


A Were By Any Other Name

by Andromedanewton



Series: Anita Blake/Merry Gentry Crossover [3]
Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton, Merry Gentry - Laurell K Hamilton
Genre: Angst, Anita is a better actress than she should be, Asher is not yet a douche, Brief F/F kiss, Canon-Typical Violence, Cutesy Nicknames, F/M, Giant Spiders, Jason is flirty, Miscarriage, Nathaniel is flirty too, Pain, Richard is an idiot, Sequel, Seriously really big spiders like REALLY, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-12 10:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 41
Words: 51,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7098220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromedanewton/pseuds/Andromedanewton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anita Blake is struck by a mystery illness while one of her boyfriends, Rhys is out of town on business, and the last thing she needs is to be called to a gruesome crime scene where all signs point to a were attack, and as the preternatural expert she feels she doesn't have any other choice but to attend.  In the meantime Merry is on her way to visit, not knowing they are not quite prepared for her visit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, peeps, here we are, at my third story in my Anita Blake/Merry Gentry Crossover series! I feel the tags I had to put in do kind of spoil the plot a little but I had to add them in case anyone needed them as a warning. I've been there, I know what the loss is like. I actually wrote part of this while I was pregnant with my second daughter just months after an ectopic that could have killed me so it might be a tad on the emotional side at times. My daughter is now almost eight which just goes to show how long this has been sitting around! 
> 
> Parts of this work hold mental conversations between some lead characters which in my original copy hold different fonts for each character for ease, however as they won't show here I will try and find all of the convos and put a ** either side and perhaps a name if it looks confusing as to who is 'speaking'.
> 
> Also, sorry but no real sexy times in this one, simply because of the subject matter. Trust me that's the last thing on your mind when your body goes through the trauma Anita does, so sorry, but more smut in part four of the series!
> 
> Also again, I've noticed a couple of phrases that are slightly more English than Americanised so sorry about that, but I'm English and I couldn't be bothered to change every slight inflection! I'd never be finished!
> 
> Finally, once more, same as before, I will try and post around three chapters a day, depending on the length. Everyone still happy with that? I'm just excited to share!

I lay on my side curled up in a tight ball. My stomach was cramping. Again. I’d been ill for the last four days. Sick, nausea, hot and cold. I’d thought the marks from Jean Claude were supposed to make me stronger, harder to hurt; yet here I was housebound by a bout of stomach flu.  
Rhys was in Columbia, MO, on a case and had been for a week. He’d wanted to come home and take care of me when he finally found out how sick I really was. That was the wrong thing to say. I went on the defensive immediately, told him I was fine, I didn’t need looking after, he was working, not to be so stupid…and promptly left him hanging on the phone while I threw up again. He’d only agreed not to rush home after he spoke to Jean Claude and made him promise to keep checking up on me. Jean Claude had gone one better, or worse. He’d sent Jason over. When I felt better I was going to have some serious words with the two men in my life.  
Jason appeared in the doorway with a glass of soda water in his hand and a broad grin on his face. He was wearing torn blue jeans showing large amounts of flesh and a tight white t-shirt.  
“How you feeling?” He asked as he knelt by the bed. We’d learnt pretty quick if he sat on the bed the movement made my nausea worse.  
“Peachy.” I said and rolled onto my back. Jason set the glass on the nightstand and put an arm around my shoulders. We’d done this a dozen times over the last few days. If Jason minded playing nursemaid he didn’t mention it. He fussed over me with a smile, if not a song.  
I sat up slowly, my arms shaking with the effort despite Jason’s help. All I’d eaten the last few days were dry crackers, all I’d drunk was soda water. I was worse on a morning. In the afternoon I managed to get out of bed and sit in the lounge. By early evening I felt pretty good, but then sleep and the vicious circle begun again.  
It was gone three in the afternoon now. I’d not thrown up since ten am. Yea me.  
“Wanna try for the lounge?” Jason handed me the soda water and put his arm back around my shoulders for support. A fine trembling was running through my body, the kind you get when you’re so ill and weak there’s nothing to do but shake.  
I sipped at the glass slowly. I hate soda water but it was the only drink I could keep down. Even the smell of coffee made me queasy and that worried me more than the being ill so long.  
“Sure.”  
Jason handed me a pair of sweat pants as I swung my legs out of bed. I slid my legs into the pants before I stood, leaning heavily against Jason. It took me a few moments to feel steady on my own but Jason sensibly hadn’t commented once. If he had I’d have made sure I threw up on him next time. It was the worst threat I could make. Agreeing to Jason's help showed just how bad I was feeling.  
I pushed my Firestar into my pocket and old lady walked my way downstairs, Jason just in front of me in case I fell.  
Rhys and I had rented a house with a large yard, front and back. It was too big for the two of us but I’d wanted isolation. Too many times now I’d been attacked at home and while it should have been against to rules, bad guys tended to make them up as they went along. I didn’t like endangering my neighbours so for the small price of being in the middle of nowhere I had peace of mind. Right up until the point when Rhys had said the place needed kids running through it to fill it out. We had a few words after that. I think deep down he’d been hoping to be the one to get Merry pregnant if just for the daddy experience. I told him if he wanted kids to go get himself a sex change…or a pet. He’d bought me a new angelfish for my aquarium by way of a make up. He calls it Anita junior. I call him stupid.  
Then the last time he was out of town he came back to find the place full of werewolves and wereleopards. That had surprised him. He’d missed the episode with the Vampire Council, missed Richard showering in our bathroom. I didn’t tell him that last part. Rhys was the only man I knew who couldn’t smell or sense my emotions. Just as well. He’d have thrown a fit if he’d known what I was thinking when I saw Richard wet in nothing but a small towel. I hadn’t told Richard about Rhys either. He was cruel enough to me about sleeping with Jean Claude, never mind what he’d say if he found out about Rhys too.  
So Rhys had come home to a ready-made family. Admittedly Richard had left by this point but everyone else was still around. It took me hours to explain to him that I was now the Nimir-Ra of the wereleopards. He wasn’t keen on the idea I was their protector but he got used to it. He still has a hard time with the way they fawn over me, especially Nathaniel.  
And don’t even mention Asher to him. Asher was part of a ménage a trois with Jean Claude for years with Asher’s human servant, Julianna. She was killed, he was badly scarred and he blamed Jean Claude, right up until last month when I’d proved to him that scars didn’t ruin him, he was still beautiful. Asher and Rhys compared scars the first time they met, trying to outdo each other. I’d told them just what I thought of their pissing contest and when Asher apologised with a kiss on the big pulse on my neck…well lets just say fisticuffs nearly occurred. Rhys doesn’t understand how I can have Jean Claude’s memories with Asher and he doesn’t like it either. But what can he do? We had a big blow out one day and I told him he could go back to Merry if he was really so unhappy. I’d wished I could have taken it back as soon as I’d said it. We calmed down after that, talked it out and then made up. For a couple of hours. He was coping better with everything but still didn’t understand fully.  
I collapsed onto my white couch and Jason threw a comforter over me.  
“Want to try some crackers?”  
I shook my head and leaned back in the corner, snuggling down as much as I could. The TV was on quietly on the news channel and I listened to the gentle noise. I felt Jason sit by my feet and move my legs to stretch over his lap. We’d sat like this the last couple of days too. It was a comfort having him there and he’d managed to behave himself so far. I wondered if he was working up to something. I wondered if right now I cared.  
He started channel hopping quicker than I could see the pictures. He knew it annoyed me and I ignored him for few minutes. Eventually I snatched the remote off him and threw it across the room.  
“Hey!”  
“Fetch.” I said and closed my eyes again. Jason moved my feet with a sigh and went to get the remote.  
“You must be feeling better.” He said as he sat back down. I was starting to perk up for the day. I was improving at a slow rate but I was coping better. I was getting used to feeling nauseous all the time and I didn’t feel as bad as I had. Bert hadn’t believed I was that sick either, until he came over and I threw up on his two hundred dollar shoes. He told me to take off as long as I needed.  
“Enough to get annoyed.” I said.  
“Enough to be teased?” He started tracing lazy circles on my ankle with his fingers.  
“Stop it, Jason.”  
“You said you were feeling a bit better.” I opened my eyes and looked at him. He had his cheeky grin on.  
“Not well enough for you yet, wolfboy.”  
“Sure?” He started to slowly trace his fingers up my lower leg towards my knee.  
“Quite sure.” I said and grabbed his hand. He stared at me for a moment with his pale blue eyes and started to lean towards me. I sighed. I didn’t need this, not right now.  
Then the phone rang. “Saved by the bell.” I said into Jason's face, only a few inches away.  
“Yeah, dammit.” He said. He stuck a quick peck on my forehead and went to answer the phone. All in all after four days together, that was the first move Jason had made on me. If he ever tried it on in a big way, he knew that Jean Claude and Rhys would kill him, not to mention what Richard would do…actually, probably think I was banging him as well.  
Jason came back with the portable phone and held it out to me. “Sergeant Storr.” He said.  
“Hey, Dolph.” I said into the receiver. It was nice to hear someone else’s voice.  
“Anita. Who’s Jason Schuyler?”  
“A friend.” I said. “What’s wrong, Dolph?”  
“We need you to come out to Columbia.”  
I made a groan low in my throat. “Body?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Bad?”  
“You’ll see when you get here.”  
“No, Dolph. I really want an idea as to what I’m looking at here. I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to come.”  
“Why not?” I could hear him frowning over the phone. “Your boss giving you trouble again?”  
“No more than usual. I’ve been ill, Dolph. I don’t know if I’m up to a drive that far.”  
“You, ill?” I could hear an edge of amusement to his voice.  
“Yeah, Dolph. The great vampire Executioner is sick.”  
He was quiet for a moment then said; “We really need you to take a look at this one.”  
I sighed again. “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Where are you?”  
“Indian Hills Park.”  
“Okay.”  
He hung up and I clicked the phone off.  
“I hope you’re not going out?” Jason gave me his best disapproving frown. He still looked cute.  
“I have to go, Jason. It’s a murder scene.” I slid my legs off his lap and stood.  
“I’ll drive you.” He said as I started up the stairs.  
I took in a deep breath and turned to look at him, “Alright. Just this once. But you have to stay in the car and do as I tell you.”  
“Yes, boss.” He grinned.  
I went upstairs to get dressed into something more respectable. Maybe I could pay a surprise visit to Rhys while I was there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last thing a girl needs when she feels like the walking dead she raises for a living is Zebrowski being chipper.

I was a sickly shade of green by the time Jason pulled up into the parking lot at Indian Hills Park. Yellow police tape cordoned off the entrance, two uniforms and a bunch of gawkers stood by the tape. I clipped my RPIT badge onto my lapel and moved around to the trunk. I heard Jason get out of the car and I was relieved. I was leaning heavily against the drop down feeling dizzy. I felt his hand on my shoulder. “You sure you’re up to this, Anita?”  
“No.” I shook my head. “But we’ve come this far. Go over to those cops and see if you can get Dolph or Zebrowski to come get me.”   
“Alright. Don’t go anywhere.” I watched him walk away and I pulled myself into the drop down. I pulled on my coveralls, put a couple of pairs of surgical gloves in one pocket and a tape measure in another. I just knew as soon as I saw anything dead I was going to throw up. Maybe I could appeal to their better nature and they wouldn’t make fun. Yeah right. Like that was going to happen.   
I looked up to see Jason and Zebrowski heading towards me. Zebrowski looked like he always did. In a suit but didn’t belong there.  
“Blake.” He said with a nod, a sideways grin on his face.  
“Zebrowski.” I said, sliding out of the car.  
“You look like shit.”  
“Love you too.” I started towards the scene, Zebrowski beside me. “Stay here, Jason. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”  
“Yes, mistress.” He said in an Igor voice. I shook my head and did my best to ignore him.  
“So, what’s up, Blake?” Zebrowski asked as we reached the tape.  
“Just a touch of stomach flu, I think.” I said and watched him duck under the tape. My spinning head was not going to like this. I ducked under and came up to fast, my head began to spin and I fell on all fours.  
“You sure she’s gonna be okay, detective? Little thing like that at a murder scene…” I turned to see a man in a deputy’s uniform. I glared at him hard and got to my feet, luckily they kept me upright. I stalked towards the tree line feeling angry; it was better than feeling weak. Zebrowski caught me up.  
“You’re really not well are you, Blake?”  
“No, Zebrowski, I’m just peachy.” My teeth were gritted, my hands clenched into fists.  
“Wait.” He caught my arm and stopped me. “If you’re sick I think you need to be prepared for what’s up here.”  
“Is it bad?” I frowned at him.  
“It’s not the worst.”  
“But it’s bad.” I finished.  
“Yeah.”  
“What’s up here, Zebrowski?”  
“One body, a jogger, female. Sliced up pretty bad.”  
“Okay.” I took in a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anita feels like a rookie again, gets laughed at, a telling off and the third degree.

I threw up as soon as I saw the body. I made it to a tree and collapsed to my knees. I’d eaten nothing all day so there was more retching than anything, but even when you think you’re empty your body will find something to get rid of. Dolph stood the other side of the tree waiting for me as I staggered back around it.  
“If you were this sick, Anita, you shouldn’t have agreed to come.” He was frowning at me.  
“I told you I was ill, that I couldn’t drive. Think I was making it up?”  
“Next time you’re this ill, you turn me down, point blank. Okay?”  
“Yessir.” I tried lightening the mood a little but Dolph slung an arm around my shoulder and helped me back towards the body. I didn’t want his help, but I did need it. I was shaking from head to toe and cold sweat was running down my spine. Dammit, I felt shitty. I took small, shallow breaths and looked down at the body. The woman had been young by the look of what remained. From her sternum to her lower abdomen she had been shredded.  
“So, what’s the gen?” I asked as I crouched by the body. The August heat was making the air a sickly sweet mix of blood and other things, none of them good.  
“Found this morning at first light, seems to have been here all night. Local sheriff’s department first thought it was a bear attack, then realised there’d been no bear sightings here in decades.”  
“Bear attack?” I glanced at him. It was vaguely reminiscent of a case we’d had last year.  
“Bear-ish.” He said. Good old Dolph, cryptic as ever.  
I probed into the wounds that ran in four straight lines down its front. The abdomen had been ripped away, either by claws or teeth, and the contents eaten, I thought. It was like someone had taken out her insides with an ice cream scoop, a very jagged ice cream scoop.   
“There haven’t been bears in this area for the longest time, Dolph. And if there were any, few would rarely attack a human so blatantly. You’re thinking were attack, aren’t you?”  
“Aren’t you?” He asked. I glanced up at him.  
“Yeah. I am.”  
“Great. Any idea what kind?”  
I shook my head. “If there were tracks, or bite marks, maybe, but not from just claw marks. If it had been just a few scratches and mainly teeth marks, the vic being eaten, I’d have said wolf, but not with this amount of clawing.” I said taking off my gloves.  
“That’s all you can give us?”   
“For now. Have the coroner take a look, get the claw marks measured. I’ll help with comparisons if I can.”  
“Sorry to have dragged you all this way out.”  
“Always happy to help, Dolph, you know that. Tests for lycanthropy might help too.” I held a hand up to him and he stared at it, an eyebrow raised.  
“Asking for help?”  
“One time offer, Dolph, help me to my feet or I crawl back to my car.”  
He took my hand and slowly pulled me to my feet.  
“You seen a doctor?”  
“No.” I rolled my eyes; I was going to get a lecture.  
“And you’ve been ill how long?”  
“Four days.”  
“Call a doctor when you get home, okay, Anita?”  
“Yes, dad.”  
“I’m not kidding. I’ll call you when I get back to town, if you’ve not seen a doctor I’ll take you to the emergency room myself. Your skin should only be that colour if you’re related to the Incredible Hulk.”  
I laughed slightly at that. “I’ll call a doctor as soon as I can.”  
“I’ll get Zebrowski to walk you back to your car.”  
“Thanks, Dolph.” I wanted Zebrowski to help me? I must have felt like crap.  
Zebrowski was quiet until we got halfway back to my car. “So who’s Jason Schuyler?”  
“A friend. He’s been keeping an eye on me, making sure I don’t fall down the stairs, don’t throw up on the rug, that kind of thing.”  
“Good friend. What does Dracula think about him?” Zebrowski always called Jean Claude Dracula. I worried if I introduced them some time he’d forget and call him it to his face. But then Jean Claude would probably find it hilarious.  
“Jean Claude sent him. I didn’t want anyone around but you try arguing when your head’s down the toilet.”  
He laughed at that. “As long as you’re not two timing Dracula, that’s fine. I’d hate to be called to your place because your throat's been ripped out by a jealous boyfriend.”  
I stopped and stared at him. “What makes you think I’m two timing Jean Claude?”  
“Nothing, you just turned up here with a strange guy and…are you two timing him?” He was grinning at me.   
“No, I’m not two timing on Jean Claude.”  
“So is it Schuyler?”  
“I’m not doing the dirty, Zebrowski.”  
“Richard back again?”  
“Lay off it!”  
“Someone new?”  
There was something in the way he said it. I knew then he’d seen the tabloid pictures of me and Rhys at the airport a couple of months back.  
“Whatever it is, Zebrowski, get it off your chest so I can go back to my sick bed.”  
“If I get something off my chest could I come to your sick bed with you?”  
“Zebrowski!”  
“Okay! I saw the photos of you with one of the faerie princess’ guards. You looked pretty friendly.”  
“Oh, Rhys? Yeah, we’re pretty close.” I shrugged.  
“Are you dating him?”  
“Not exactly.”  
“Not exactly? That’s cryptic, even for you, Blake.”  
“Isn’t it though?” I said and bent slowly under the police tape. “Later, Zebrowski.”   
“Oh come on, Blake, just one little hint?” He’d stopped at the tape and was calling after me.  
“Let’s just say you’re too human for my tastes.” I smiled at him as I got into my 4x4.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brief convo between Jason and Anita.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short chapter!

I sat in the passenger seat of my car as Jason drove towards downtown Columbia. Rhys was staying at the Baymont Inn and I knew for a fact he was using the surname Blake. He didn’t have a surname himself so he used mine. I found that a little disconcerting but it made things easy, seeing as the house and all bills were in my name.  
“So what are we doing?” Jason asked.  
“We’re going to see Rhys and get an hour or so rest before we head back to town.”  
“Does he know we’re coming?”  
“No.” I turned to look at him. “Do you think I should call him?”  
“Maybe.” Jason shrugged. “If it was me I probably wouldn’t be alone, if I was at the hotel at all.”  
“Thanks, Jason, you’re making me feel tons better.”  
“Want me to stop at this gas station? Use the phone?”  
“No.” I said. “I just want to get there and lay down. I don’t want to walk around more than necessary.”  
“You’re looking a bit better at least, and you’re arguing.”  
“I’m getting used to feeling queasy.” I shrugged. “And the sickness isn’t as bad as it was, really. I think I’m on the mend.”  
“Good.” He nodded. “You’ve had me worried.”  
“I’ll survive, Jason. You know that.”  
“I know that.” He replied with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flirty Jason. Why do I have a thing for Jason in elevators?

I walked into the reception area of the Baymont Inn on Jason's arm. I was feeling hungry for the first time in days and as a result I was feeling weak and fatigued. I leant heavily on the reception desk and the concierge looked down at Jason and I as though we’d just crawled out of the sewers.  
“May I help you?” His words were polite but his tone said; 'Can you afford to be here?'  
“Yeah.” I said, putting on a small smile. “I’m looking for Mr Rhys Blake. Can you tell me if he’s in the hotel please?”  
“And you are?” He was looking down his nose at us. I had the urge to climb on the desk to stop him doing so but resisted.  
“His wife.” It felt weird saying it. Rhys and I weren’t getting married but it made more sense to go along with it. The concierge looked at me, at Jason and at Jason's arm around my shoulder.  
“And his brother in law.” Said Jason with a smile.  
The concierge nodded once and tapped on his computer.  
“Mr Blake is in right now. Would you like me to call him?”  
“No, I want to stand here all day and think about how rough I feel. Yes I want you to call him!” My patience was wearing thin.  
The concierge got on the phone with a harrumph and spoke in hushed tones then handed the phone to me.  
“Hello?”  
“Hi, Rhys.”  
“Anita? What are you doing here? The concierge just said there was some strange woman in reception claiming to be my wife.”  
“I’ll explain everything, but can we please come up? I’m dying down here.”   
“Sure.” He gave me his room number and we hung up. I handed the receiver back to the concierge. “Thanks. You’ve been most unhelpful.” Jason and I turned and went to the elevators.  
“You’re a little cranky this afternoon.” Jason said finally. I was leaning heavily against the wall of the elevator.  
“I’m just pissed that I’m still feeling ill. I never get sick.”  
“It’s not just that, is it?”  
“What do you mean?” He came to stand in front of me and sniffed the air. He moved closer to me until he was centimetres from my throat, his breath brushing lightly on my neck.  
“You smell different.” He frowned up at me. Jason is exactly my height and I stared into his blue eyes from up close.  
“Different how?” I was frowning myself now.  
“I’m not sure.” He put his arms either side of me in a standing push up and leant towards me.  
“Don’t.”  
“Or what? You’ll shoot me?” His breath was warm against my lips, but this was Jason. If it was Rhys, Jean Claude, even Asher I’d have closed the gap, but Jason? I wouldn’t willingly give in to him.  
“Maybe. You don’t want to find out what I’ll do, Jason.”  
“But you promised to protect me.” He whispered, brushing my lips lightly with his own. I did not respond in anyway, trying not to even breath.  
“I can shoot you and not kill you. It’d hurt like hell but you’d learn your lesson.” I felt silly trying to speak without hardly moving my lips.  
“I’ll risk it.” He murmured and pressed his body against me, just as the elevator pinged our floor. I sighed with relief as Jason stepped away from me. The doors opened to show Rhys waiting for us.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys is none too pleased about Anita being this sick.

“I still can’t believe you’re this ill and you wouldn’t let me come home.” Rhys was pacing the room in front of the bed. I was lying down with a cold cloth on my forehead.  
“I’m fine, Rhys. I’ve been worse.”  
“Yeah, you should see her in the morning.” Jason was sat in one of the two chairs by the window.  
“How worse?” Rhys asked.  
“Thanks, Jason.” I said rolling onto my side. I didn’t feel sick anymore but I had the mother of all headaches.   
“She’s been sick everyday for four days, she’s not eating, she’s only drinking soda water.” Jason shook his head. “She’s not even had any coffee.”  
Rhys turned to look at me. “Is this true?”  
“Yeah.” I pulled the pillow over my face. I didn’t want to look at him right now. He looked angry and worse of all he looked sorry for me. I did not want his pity. I wanted to feel better. I felt him move onto the bed to lie beside me. He moved the pillow back from my face and brushed my hair from my cheek.  
“See a doctor.” He said. He looked down at me looking gorgeous as always. His hair was tied back in a long braid, his business suit a dark grey, his shirt and tie shades of blue, bringing out his eye. Even his eye patch was grey, more subtle than his usual white. If I hadn’t known him I might not have even given him a second glance in a room full of suits. Okay maybe that was an exaggeration. He’d still stand out but he’d blend in a little better. That’s what being a PI is all about.  
“I’ll see a doctor when I get home. I’ll call Lillian.”  
“You’re clammy.” He said holding his palm to my cheek. I didn’t say anything. I knew I was in a cold sweat. I’d done too much today and my body was retaliating.  
“You’re trembling too. Can I get you something to eat or drink from room service?”   
“Toast, I think.” I was feeling quite hungry. “And soda water.”  
“Jason?”  
“I’ll have a rare steak, fries and a coke if you’re ordering.”  
“You can eat it in the corridor.” I said rolling back onto my back.  
“I can go down to the bar if you want. I don’t want you throwing up again.”  
“Thanks, Jason.”  
When Rhys and I were alone he lay beside me on the bed and I rested my head on his shoulder, breathing in the scent of him. I’d missed him.  
“How’s your case going?”  
“Okay.” He said. “I don’t think it’s a simple matter of the guy having an affair. He disappears into the woods most nights and I lose him. Not seen him do anything that would point to an affair though. What are you doing out here?”  
“Dolph called. There was an attack in one of the parks. Think it might be a lycanthrope.”  
“Oh. Any idea what kind?”  
“No. The victim was so badly cut up it’ll be difficult to tell. I don’t think it was wolves though. Or leopards. I’m getting good at spotting their handiwork.”  
“How did you cope at the scene?”  
I laughed bitterly. “How do you think? First glance of the body and I was throwing up in the bushes like a rookie.”  
“Bet Zebrowski loved that.”  
“Actually he wasn’t too bad. I think Dolph saw my green complexion and sent him elsewhere.”  
“Good old Dolph.” Rhys hadn’t actually met either of them but I’d told him enough about them so he knew what they were like.   
“Any idea when you’ll be home?”  
“No.” He sighed, my head rising against his chest. “Why, you missing me?”  
“Oh yeah, there’s no one to do the dishes.”   
He squeezed me against him slightly. “Cheeky.”  
“I miss you, Rhys. You know that. But Merry's flying in tomorrow.”  
“I’d forgotten.” We laid in silence then, just enjoying the feel of each other until room service arrived.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean Claude helps Anita's symptoms. Asher does not lurk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! Three short chapters means fourth bonus chapter!

Jean Claude was at the house when we got back. It was after eleven and I was worn out. Jason was sent out for more soda water while Jean Claude ran me a bath. He shared it with me but made no move to make it anything more than what it was. He helped me wash my hair and that was a comfort in itself. Lying in his arms with the warmth of the water almost made me forget how bad I’d felt. I was calmer than I’d been in days. I dozed off in his embrace and when I woke I was in bed, Jean Claude spooned behind me.  
I turned in his arms and looked up at him. He stared down at me, his midnight blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight.  
“How are you feeling, ma petite?”  
“Okay, I think. You been here all this time?”  
He sighed. “Alas, yes. I admit I was watching you sleep.”  
“You big softy.” I said, caressing his cheek with my hand.  
“He wasn’t just watching you sleep.” I started at the new voice in the room. Asher stood and moved into the light. He’d been sitting in the chair in the darkest corner of the room.  
“Asher.” I said. “I didn’t see you lurking in the corner.”  
Jean Claude and Asher both laughed then. The combination of them both made me shudder. Asher was the only other vampire I’d met that could bring that reaction with his voice alone. Together they were a lethal combination. A lethal, orgasmic combination.  
“I do not think Asher could ever be accused of lurking, ma petite.”  
“No, I guess not.” I frowned up at Jean Claude. “Just what were you doing then?”  
“Trying to reduce your fever, ma petite.” He kissed me gently on the forehead.  
“Using the marks.” I didn’t make it a question; I knew how he’d done it. And I did feel a little better. The nausea was still around, in the background, but the fever and shakes were gone. “Thank you.” I said giving him a quick kiss.  
“Do you want anything to eat?” This from Asher.  
“Some crackers would be good.” I said with a nod. He left me alone with Jean Claude.  
“Are you truly up to Meredith coming to stay this weekend?”  
“Thanks to you I think I might be.” I said sitting up. “Anyway, she doesn’t come to see me, she comes to see Rhys.”  
“And he is out of town.”  
“Yeah.”  
“So why have you not put her off coming, ma petite? It is unlike you to willingly want houseguests.”  
I thought about it for a moment. This was the first time Merry was coming to stay since we’d got the house and she didn’t have to book into a hotel. “I guess I like to see her too. We’re friends. It’s nice to have a friend who understands our… situation.”  
“Unlike Ms Simms?”  
“Yeah, unlike Ronnie.” Ronnie hated Jean Claude. Firstly it was because he was a vampire, secondly she wondered what I was doing with Jean Claude when I’d had my chance twice now for a reasonably normal relationship, both with Richard and Rhys. We’d argued about it a couple of times.  
“Merry’s the only girl who’s sleeping with more men than me on a regular basis. It’s a benchmark for me.” I was teasing him but the look on his face showed he wasn’t sure.  
“So you could sleep with up to five men and not feel promiscuous as long as Meredith has a higher body count?”   
“I’m teasing, Jean Claude.” But I realised he was right in a way. I was only sleeping with him and Rhys. I’d happily take Asher to my bed, but that was mainly because of Jean Claude’s memories, and the opportunity with Jason kept presenting itself but I didn’t want to sleep with him, not really. And I couldn’t help but regret not sleeping with Richard when I had the chance but as long as Merry was sleeping with five men I didn’t feel so guilty. Maybe that would change when she got pregnant and had to be monogamous. Maybe it wouldn’t.  
“I have to go soon.” He said putting a gentle kiss on my knuckles. “If you do not feel up to entertaining Meredith and her entourage call me. I will send Asher to take them out. Perhaps to the Laughing Corpse, or Danse Macabre.”  
“Thanks, Jean Claude. I’ll let Merry decide when she gets here.” I sat quietly for moment. “Have you spoken to Richard lately?”  
“Thinking of upping your body count, ma amore?”  
“No. It’s just the attack on the jogger in Columbia was a lycanthrope, I’m sure of it. But it wasn’t a wolf or leopard. I didn’t know if he might know of any other lycanthropes besides the obvious that might be in the area.”  
“I will see if I can contact him for you, ma petite. However Monsieur Zeeman is a little reluctant to see me also, apart from advice where the marks between us are concerned.”  
“You’re still pursuing the triumvirate?” I didn’t keep the surprise out of my voice. “What, Rhys and I not enough power for you?”  
He laughed then, his normal laugh, no power, just pure Jean Claude. “Ma petite, you and Rhys are an intoxicating blend, but the triumvirate cannot be ignored. Whether you like it or not you are linked to Richard as you are linked to me. The bond is sealed between us, never to be severed.”  
“I know.” I said with a sigh, looking down at my hands. “But I sometimes wonder if you only want me for my power.”  
He lifted my chin to look at him using only his fingertips. “You know that is not true, ma petite.” I nodded slightly. “There is nothing we can do about the fall out from you and Richard. But the triumvirate still powers each of us, giving us all more power than if we stood alone. It helps us all every hour of every day. I would not extinguish the marks even if I could. It is not just for myself, but for you I am glad. You are harder to harm now. I could not bear to think of anything happening to you.”  
“You are a big softy.” I said, kissing him gently.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anita meets Merry at the airport and, as good friends often do, she realises first what exactly might be Anita's problem.

I felt quite a lot better the next day, so much so that I sent Jason home, despite his protestations. He’d pointed out that now I was feeling better we could make use of the time alone. I shut the door in his face. I’d been sick again, but just once; a new record for this week.   
I stood in the arrivals area of Lambert Airport at a quarter to one in the afternoon, wishing it was cooler. August heat thrummed against the skin even in the air-conditioned building. The humidity was somewhere around 150%. Merry had taken to only bringing two guards with her when she came to visit. Rhys was already here putting the number up to three and they actually trusted me to be a fourth. I never knew which guards it was going to be, it was always a surprise, but always with her was either Doyle or Frost. The captain and his lieutenant. It was much easier for her to travel incognito with just two guards. We managed to have normal nights out without looking like a travelling circus. Just a bunch of friends out for the evening. That’s right, no vampire executioners or faerie princesses here.  
Galen came through the doors first, holding the door open as Merry and Frost came through next. I smiled and waved and let them come to me. I could feel their glamour as they approached hiding their true appearances. I put my hands deep in my shorts pockets, not wanting to invite a hug from any of them. Not only was I worried I might be contagious; I didn’t want their sympathy.  
“Hey, guys. How was your flight?”  
Galen wrapped his arms around me but I kept my hands in place, not hugging him back.  
“The flight was fine.” Said Merry with a frown. “Is it okay if we stop for a drink before we go to your place?”  
“Sure.” I said with a shrug.  
“Where’s Rhys?” Merry asked as we sat at the table of one of the cafes in the airport. The men had gone to get the drink Merry wanted.  
“He’s out of town on business. He’s hoping to be home soon though.”  
“Okay.” She looked disappointed. I knew she missed Rhys but it had been on her agreement that he’d stayed in St Louis with me. “Are you okay?”  
“Me? Oh you know me. I’m fine. Same old same old.” I lied.  
“You’re a great liar when it comes to getting out of trouble, Anita, but not to your friends. What’s wrong? You wouldn’t even hug Galen back.”  
“It’s nothing, Merry. Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. Just not in a very touchy feely mood, that’s all.” I shrugged.  
“Alright. But remember I’m here if you want to talk about anything, okay?”  
“You sound like Ronnie.” I said with a sigh.  
Galen and Frost came back to the table with a tray of drinks. Galen set down the tray as he said; “I know you didn’t ask, but I figured you’d want one anyway.” He set a coffee down in front of me and that was it. The smell was enough and I felt my throat burning with vomit.  
“Oh God!” I managed as I jumped to my feet, knocking over the chair and running to the nearest bathroom.   
As I knelt over the toilet bowl I heard the outer door slam open and heard Merry call my name. I banged on the side of the stall to let her know where I was as another wave took me. When I was finished I sat quietly for a moment, resting my head against the tiled wall.  
“You okay in there?”  
“Great.” I said, going to my knees. I pushed myself to standing and opened the door. Merry was stood with her back against the wall, arms folded over her stomach. She looked at me with concern in her eyes, the one thing I hadn’t wanted to see.  
“You don’t look okay.” I walked past her and splashed water on my face  
“I’ve just been a little off colour the last few days. That’s all.”  
“Tell me.” She rubbed a hand on my back like my mother used to when I was little. I looked up at her reflection in the mirror beside mine. For the first time I was paler than she was. My eyes were sunken with dark rings under them.  
“I’ve been sick for five days now. Sickness, nausea, hot and cold flushes, shaking. I’m completely off my food. I feel better the later in the day it gets but on a morning it’s really bad. I don’t think I’ve ever been so ill in my life.” She pulled me into a hug and I let her. The comfort was nice and a surprise. I thought I’d hate her seeing me so weak, knocked for a roll by something so simple, but I didn’t. Friendship does strange things to you.  
“Anita?”  
“Uh huh?”  
“You said you’ve been sick mainly on a morning?”  
“Yeah. A good nights sleep isn’t a phrase I’m familiar with right now.”  
“When was your last period?” I pulled back from her far enough to look in her eyes.  
“Why?”  
“Just tell me.”  
I frowned as I thought about it. “A couple of weeks I guess.”  
“Could you be pregnant?”  
I staggered back from her as though I’d been struck and I grabbed the side of the sink to stop from falling. “You’ve got to be kidding!” I said. My eyes were wide and my pulse was racing…I was going to throw up again.  
Merry was sitting on the vanity unit when I came out, feet dangling like a child in an oversized chair.  
“I can’t be pregnant.” I said. “I just can’t.”  
“Can’t because it’s not possible or can’t because you don’t want to be?”  
“I’m on birth control.”  
“But that’s not one hundred percent proof.”  
“I know.” I covered my mouth with my hands and screamed.  
“Have you been using any other forms of contraception?” She sounded like a big sister.  
“Mostly, yes. I think so. Jean Claude and I are always so careful but…I don’t remember. Maybe…and Rhys too. There was that first time at your place though. We didn’t have anything then. Oh God, Merry what am I gonna do?” My knees buckled and I found myself kneeling on the floor. Merry came and knelt beside me, putting an arm round my shoulders.  
“It’s okay. First we’ll figure out when your last period was and we’ll go from there.”   
“Okay.” I said. I wanted to cry. This could not be happening to me. It had to be stomach flu, right? Just because I was off my food, throwing up every morning and couldn’t remember my last period didn’t mean I was pregnant. Oh fuck.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor still very submissive Nathaniel!

Merry and I agreed not to tell anyone else about it. We’d wait and see what we came up with. We explained to Frost and Galen I’d been ill a couple of days and that was that. They accepted it like men. Basically that means they believed us and didn’t question it any further. Galen drove my 4x4 to the house, I was still shaking slightly.  
“This is nice.” Merry said from behind me as we drove up the drive.  
“Thanks.” I said. “I wanted isolation, not to put any neighbours at risk and this is the house that…” My words trailed off at the sight of someone curled up on my front step. “Oh shit!” I was out the door and at a flat run before Galen even stopped the car, Browning in my hand, although I thought I already knew who it was.  
Nathaniel looked up at me as I approached through this long thick auburn hair. He started to crawl towards me and I could see his jeans and t-shirt spattered with blood. He limped slightly on his left arm; a cut deep enough to show bone ran from his elbow to his wrist. I holstered the Browning and fell to my knees in front of him. He threw his arms around me and I realised he was weeping softly. I held him to me, shushing and rocking him until he pulled away from me slightly, his soft eyes looking into mine.  
“You smell funny.” He said wrinkling his nose.  
Nathaniel is one of my wereleopards, a member of the Pard. He was very young, and very submissive. He needed someone to take care of him and as Nimir-Ra, that someone is me.  
“Sorry, I’ve been sick. What happened, Nathaniel?”  
“I’m an invitation.” He smiled weakly at me but it failed to reach his eyes. I wondered what else they’d done besides beat him.  
“An invitation to what?” He tensed against me, moving his head to my shoulder to nuzzle my throat as I felt Merry, Frost and Galen come up behind me.  
“It’s okay, Nathaniel. They’re friends, like Rhys.” I felt him nod once but he stayed in the comfort of my arms. “Let’s continue this inside.” Galen used my keys to open the front door as Nathaniel and I helped each other to our feet. I sat Nathaniel on the couch on my comforter, trying desperately not to get blood on the white couch.  
“Are you going to heal me like in the hospital?” He asked with a glint in his eye.  
“No. You’re already healing on your own. It’s not life threatening either.” Nathaniel was referring to Raina’s munin. I’d used it to heal him before to get him out of hospital in a hurry but he was a lycanthrope and as such would heal just fine without my intervention this time.  
“What’s going on?” asked Merry as I knelt in front of Nathaniel.  
“I don’t know. What happened, Nathaniel?”  
“I was jumped by two men.”  
“In broad daylight?” Merry asked. He looked at her carefully.  
“It’s okay, Nathaniel, really.” I said brushing the hair back from his face. “She’s a friend. What did they want?”  
“You.” He said softly. I felt my eyes widen and he wrapped his arms around my shoulders pulling me close to him. I moved him back gently.  
“What did they say?”  
“They said to bring a message to the Lupa of the Thronnos Rokke clan and the Nimir-Ra of the Blooddrinkers Clan. They’re from something called The Menagerie. They’re lycanthropes but I don’t know what sort, nothing I’ve ever met before. They said they want to meet with you.”  
“Guess nobody believes in gilt edged invitations anymore.” I shook my head. “Why me for Thronnos Rokke, why not Richard?”  
“Because you represent both.”  
“When do they want to meet?”  
“That’s just it. They didn’t say.” I frowned then and tears filled Nathaniel’s eyes again. “I’ve failed you.” He said softly and climbed to the floor beside me, lowering himself submissively to the ground and licking my hand gently with slight movements of his tongue.  
“You haven’t failed me, Nathaniel, get up.” I could feel Frost, Galen and Merry staring at the display we were giving. Nathaniel didn’t move so I took a handful of his hair left handed and lifted him to my eye level. “You did good.” I said staring deep into the lilac of his eyes. “Now go upstairs and clean yourself up.” He moved away from me slowly, keeping a grip on my hand until we were both at arms length then he walked slowly up the stairs. I put my head in my hands and rested my elbows against the couch.  
“Who was that?” Galen asked. “And what’s a Nimir-Ra?”  
“You’d better all sit down.” I said, pulling myself onto the couch. “This could take a while.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much going on in this chapter! Long and short of it; Anita tells all, Merry gets angry, Richard shows up, Edward shows up, someone unexpected shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't realised quite how long this chapter was! Oh well, it flowed nicely for me so I won't complain, I'll just let you read it!

I explained to them about how I was Richard’s Lupa and what that meant. They understood that part, except for the fact I still had the job despite having broken up with Richard a few months before. The Nimir-Ra took longer. I put it as simply as I could. I’d killed their alpha and took his place, despite not being a were-anything. I protect them, take care of them, they don’t eat me. It’s a perfect relationship.  
“Nathaniel said something about healing him? You did not have any healing powers the last time we met.” Frost said.  
“That’s even harder to explain.” I said with a sigh. “I killed the previous Lupa, Raina. When an alpha dies their munin, or spirit, kind of, gets left behind and inhabits the person, or place that killed it or it died in. Raina’s munin is in me. I can heal others by calling on the munin, but I don’t like to. That’s not exactly it but I can’t explain it any better.”  
“Why don’t you like to call it?” Merry asked.  
“Because I can’t quite control it. It’s like Raina takes over and I only have partial control over what I’m doing. Raina was one sick were-puppy when she was alive, never mind now she’s dead.”  
“New powers are always frightening.” Merry said. “You should learn to embrace them.”  
I laughed at that, a sudden sharp sound that made everyone jump. “Nice choice of words.” I said. “Anyone want a drink?” Merry kindly made the drinks while I sipped soda water allowing me to sit down. I still couldn’t believe she thought I might be pregnant. I tried not to think about it. When I did my chest got tight and I found it difficult to breath. I did do one other thing. I called Jason to see if he’d heard of The Menagerie. He said he hadn’t but he’d ask around.   
“Thanks, Jason.”  
“Hey, before you go, Jean Claude wants a word.”  
“Okay.” The phone was silent for a moment then Jean Claude’s silken voice came over the line.  
“Bonjour, ma petite. Ca va?”  
“Better, thanks to you.” I answered. But fearing I might be pregnant, no thanks to you, I didn’t say.  
“You do not sound better, ma petite. Perhaps different but not better. There is a fear in your voice. What’s wrong?”  
“It’s nothing, Jean Claude. Not me anyway.” I told him about Nathaniel and the message from The Menagerie.  
“Interesting.” He said. “I understand now why you wished to speak with Jason first. Have you considered contacting Richard?”  
Truth was I had considered it but didn’t want to see him. “I’ll wait and see what Jason comes up with first.”  
“Certainly, ma petite. Have you decided what you and your guests would like to do tonight?”  
“We haven’t discussed it yet, no. But I’ll let you know.”  
“Which guards did Meredith bring with her?”  
“Your favourite and jade.” I said. Frost we called his favourite because Frost didn’t like Jean Claude, and jade was Galen because of his hair. We could talk about them then without anyone realising we were doing it and telling Rhys. It was never derogatory but sometimes you just didn’t want people to know you were talking about them.  
“Very well, ma petite. Let me know what you decide. Je t’aime, aurevoir.”  
“Bye, Jean Claude, love you too.”  
Merry looked at me from where she stood against the kitchen counter. “Anything?”  
“No. But Jean Claude wants to know if you guys have plans for tonight. He says we can go to his comedy club or his dance club. It’s up to you guys.”  
“You feeling up to it?”  
“I can’t sit around the house worrying all night. I might as well be busy.” The phone rang again and I picked it up after one ring.  
“Yeah?”  
“Anita?”  
“Edward.” I felt my face slip to a blank expression. Edward calling was never a good sign. “What’s up?”  
“Anita. No foreplay?”  
“No. What do you want?”  
“Do you know a lycanthrope called Ciaran?”  
“No, should I?”  
“I thought you might.”  
“Not a Ciaran, no. You hunting?”  
“You want to join in?”  
I sighed. “Not really, no.”  
“You sound tired, for want of a better word. You okay?”  
“I’ve been better. What kind of lycanthrope?”  
“No idea.”  
“What?”  
“I don’t know yet. I was hoping you could enlighten me. Guess it’s back to the drawing board.”  
“Sorry I couldn’t help, Edward.” A thought occurred to me. “If I’d said I recognised the name what would you have done?”  
“This.” He said. I heard a knock on the door. I held a hand up to Merry to get her to stay where she was and went to the front door. I opened it to find Edward with his good old boy smile on his face and a cell phone to his ear.  
“Asshole.” I said as he came through the door.  
“So you’ve never heard of a lycanthrope called Ciaran?”  
“I told you no, Edward, I meant it.” He stopped in the doorway to the lounge and looked at Frost and Galen.   
“Didn’t realise you had company. Long time no see.”  
“Five months.” Said Frost, standing and shaking his hand.  
“You all planning an outing?” Edward grinned at me.  
“No. It’s a social visit.” I said as Merry came out of the kitchen to stand beside me.  
“Shame. I always get to kill more when you’re around.”  
“So glad I could help your body count. What’re you doing here, Edward? I can’t help you.”  
“I think you might know someone who can though.”  
“I don’t know. If you had something other than a name, maybe. I’ll see what I can do though. Go sit down I’ll make a couple of calls.”  
Edward ignored me and followed me into the kitchen. I gave Merry a look and she went through into the lounge leaving Edward and I alone.  
“Okay, Anita. What’s going on? There’s a faerie princess and two guards in your living room and you look like crap.”  
“Thanks, Edward.” I shook my head. “Nothing is going on, at least nothing right now. But to cut a long story short one of her other guards now lives with me and Merry has been coming to stay with us every couple of weeks.”  
Edward was looking at me with an expression on his face of complete surprise.  
“Why is one of the guards living with you?” I rolled my eyes ceiling-wards and sighed heavily. “You’re sleeping with him?” Edward almost shouted.  
“Yeah. I’m sleeping with him. He loves me.”  
“Someone loving you isn’t reason enough to sleep with them.”  
“Loving them back is.”  
“So you dumped Jean Claude.”  
“Nope.”  
“Oh God, Anita, please tell me he knows?”  
“He knows, Edward. He’s even happy.”  
“Happy? The vampire is happy you’re fucking the elf?”  
“It’s more complicated than that.”  
“It always is with you, Anita.” He left it at that. I went back to the phone to call Jason again but it rang as I picked up the receiver.  
“Hello?”  
“Anita.”  
“Richard?” My breath caught in my throat. We hadn’t spoken in months.   
“Yeah. Jason said something happened to one of your leopards?”  
“Yeah. I can’t talk about it right now. Can I call you back?”  
“I’m not far from you actually. I can come over.” I was quiet for too long and he asked; “Anita, are you still there?”  
“I’m still here, Richard. Sure, come over. Merry, Frost and Galen are here too.”  
“Okay.” He sounded a little unsure but he didn’t question it. I was glad. He still didn’t know about Rhys and I wasn’t sure how to tell him. “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”  
“Bye, Richard.”  
“Bye, Anita.”   
I hung up the phone and looked at Edward. “I’ll call if I get anything for you.”  
He went to the front door. “I look forward to hearing from you soon.”  
“I’ll call you later today, Edward.” I shut the door on him before he could say anything else. I heard him laugh through the door. I took a deep breath and went back to the others in the lounge.  
“Richard’s coming over…and he doesn’t know about Rhys.”  
They all stared at me for a moment.  
“Why haven’t you told him?” This was from Galen.  
“It just hasn’t come up. The last time I saw him Rhys was out of town and we had a major battle going on. While fighting to save the lives of all the vamps in the city, I didn’t get around to it.”  
“But you’re going to tell him, right?” Merry asked.  
“Sure, at some point, but if I want his help I don’t want him mad at me. Been there, done that, didn’t like it. If a little bit of withholding the truth stops Richard from bitching at me, I can live with that.”  
“Richard never seemed the kind to bitch.”  
“Well you haven’t seen him since we split up. Let’s just say that he was less than polite. But then breaking a guys heart will do that I guess.” I sighed. “Please try not to let anything slip, guys, okay? I want to tell Richard but in my own time.”  
I got murmurs from Galen and Frost but Merry was frowning at me.  
“I’ll agree, Anita, but you have to tell him at some point. It sounds like you’re ashamed of Rhys.”  
I felt the first stirrings of anger and I took a deep breath, hoping not to blow my top at Merry. “It’s not Rhys I’m ashamed of, it’s me.” I turned and walked from the room.  
I went upstairs to find Nathaniel. I tapped on the door of the bathroom but got no answer. Then his voice came from behind me; “I’m in here, Anita.” My room. He was in my room. I sighed. I didn’t need this.  
I went to the door and leant against the frame, folding my arms across my stomach. Nathaniel was laying face down on my bed facing the door completely naked. His forearm was healing already, the blood flow stopped, muscle rebuilding around the bone.  
“What are you doing, Nathaniel?”   
“I can smell you on the sheets.” He rolled himself up in the duvet and looked out at me, like a predatory caterpillar.  
“Get dressed and come downstairs.”  
“My clothes are ruined.”  
“Fine.” I went to the dresser and pulled out an oversized t-shirt and some shorts, throwing them at him. “These should smell of me too. Get dressed.” I walked back out the room. I realised I really didn’t want to see Merry again at the moment, I was too mad at everyone, including myself so I went straight out the front door to sit and look at the butterflies flapping around the small rectangle of flowers I’d planted. It was soothing in itself and I felt myself relaxing a little. I leant heavily against the porch in the sunshine, mulling over the last few hours.  
A lycanthrope of unknown type had harmed a member of my pard, an act of war in itself. But they’d asked not just for the Nimir-Ra but for the Lupa as well which meant it involved Richard. Their intentions weren’t friendly towards either the Lukoi or the pard, which meant I needed all the help I could get, and if that included my ex-fiancé then so be it.  
I must have dozed off because I realised I had my eyes shut when the shadow of someone standing over me blocked the sunlight. My hands were by my sides leaving me without a hope of drawing my Browning. I evened my breathing to make it appear I was still asleep and got a scent. Woodlands, trees, sunlight on naked skin…  
“Richard.” I opened my eyes as he crouched beside me. He was wearing a tight black tank top and cut off denim jeans. His hair was caught back from his face giving an illusion of short hair.  
“Anita? Are you alright?” He had an expression of surprise and worry on his face.   
“Great.” I said using the porch to help me stand.  
“You don’t look great.”  
“Just a bug I picked up. I’m fine, really.” He leant into me and sniffed gently then pulled back quickly.  
“You’ve been sick.”  
There’s no hiding anything from a guy who can smell just about everything. “Yeah. A couple of hours ago. I’m fine now.” Apart from wanting a shower and to clean my teeth.  
“If you’re sitting out on your front porch falling asleep when someone is after your pard you can’t be fine. Lets go inside, you can tell me what’s going on.”  
We went in and he said hi to Merry and the guards. Nathaniel came down the stairs as we went into the kitchen and I asked him to join us. He explained to Richard what had happened and when he finished Richard looked thoughtful. I sent Nathaniel out before I continued.  
“That’s not all.” I said when we were alone. “Edward’s been here. He’s hunting someone called Ciaran.”  
“Someone or something?”  
I think it was a test, to get me to admit I thought of him as a monster. “Someone. A lycanthrope.”  
He nodded once. Evidently I’d passed. “I don’t know any Ciaran.”  
“I didn’t think you would, but don’t you think it’s coincidence that Edward comes to town looking for a lycanthrope we’ve never heard of and Nathaniel gets attacked but can’t tell what kind they are?”  
“It is a big coincidence. One that I’m not buying any more than you are.”  
“I think we can expect another visit from them, either directly to myself or to another member of the Lukoi or Pard. We should put the word out to be wary.”  
“Agreed.”  
The phone started to ring. “Dammit, it’s like a call centre here today.” I walked past Richard sitting at the breakfast bar to the phone, very aware of the marks responding to his closeness and snatched up the receiver.  
“Hello?”  
“Anita, you sound better.” It was Rhys, my throat tightened at the sound of his voice. Boy I missed him.  
“Oh, hi. Yeah I’m a bit better. What’s going on?”  
“I don’t think I’m going to make it home for the weekend. Can you tell Merry I’m really sorry?”  
“You can tell her yourself, she’s here. Let me just get the portable.” I held one finger up to Richard and mouthed “One sec.” And went to get the portable from the lounge. I flicked it on. “Are you there, Rhys?”  
“I’m here.”   
“Okay, I’m going to pass you over to Merry. If the line clicks it’s just me hanging up the other phone.”  
“Okay, Anita. I’ll speak to you soon. I love you.”  
“I love you too.” I handed the phone to Merry and went back to the kitchen, hanging up the phone on the counter as I walked past. “Where were we?”  
“We were going to put the word out for everyone to be cautious.”  
“Right. If anyone is approached or attacked, we should take it as a serious threat to both the Pard and the pack. They’ve harmed one of us. I’m tempted to take it as an act of war, if I had any idea who we could declare war on.”  
“I’ve never heard of The Menagerie as a clan. We also have to bear in mind if they wanted you, you could be in very real danger.”  
“So what’s new?”  
“We don’t know what we’re up against. Nathaniel said he didn’t recognise the kind of lycanthrope. I think you should have some of the pack with you for protection.”  
“I don’t need protection, Richard. I have a living room full of fey guards and moody wereleopard. If the testosterone level gets any higher Merry and I will choke.”  
He laughed then and I felt my stomach tighten. Okay so he can still affect me, I’m only human right? Okay, human-ish.  
“Just a couple of members of the pack.”  
“No.”  
“Jason then. And I’ll stay on.”  
“No.”  
He made a frustrated sound low in his throat. “Why are you being so stubborn?”  
“Because every time someone protects me they end up getting hurt. I don’t want you or Jason in that category.”   
“Sounds like you care.” He put an edge of sarcasm into his voice.  
“I do care, more than I still should, but I do.”  
“That’s all I wanted to hear.” He said sliding off the stool he’d been sitting on and walking towards me. I could feel his power washing over me like an autumn breeze and the marks we shared trying to reach each other. I backed up until I was against the counter but he kept coming. He stood close enough to me to touch and looked down at me.  
“Don’t, Richard.” I said softly.  
“I know you still want me. I can smell it.” He cupped my face with his hands and leant in to kiss me gently. I put my hands up onto his wrists as though to move them as he deepened the kiss, pressing his lips hard into mine until I gasped. I found myself kissing him back without realising and went up on tiptoes automatically so he didn’t have to bend so far. The movement pressed me against the line of his body; I moved my hands to his chest as he moved his arms around my shoulders. I heard a slight whimpering sound and realised it was me.  
“Anita. We need to talk.” I heard Merry behind Richard, anger edging her voice. I pulled back from Richard slowly, his eyes were dark, a small smile played at the edges of his mouth.  
“Oh shit.” I said quietly. My voice sounded breathy even to me. Richard stepped away from me and I walked towards Merry. If looks could kill I’d have dropped where I stood. I could feel her magic bubbling below the surface. She had her arms crossed over her chest and a stern look on her face.  
“Let’s go outside.” I went to the back door and opened it, letting her go out first. I followed her a little way from the house then she turned on me, letting her aura fall against me in a wave, so much so that I staggered back.  
“I guess you haven’t told him about Rhys yet?”  
“I know you’re mad, Merry, but I’m not going to stand out here and argue with you. Richard kissed me, that’s it. It doesn’t mean I love Rhys any less. End of subject.”  
“And you weren’t kissing him back I suppose?”  
“Richard and I have a bond through the triumvirate with Jean Claude. It’s hard to resist that much power. I’ll get used to him being around and it won’t respond to him.”  
“But he’ll still respond to you.”  
“I’ll tell him not to. I’ll tell him no.”  
“Not good enough.” She shook her head.  
“What do you want from me, Merry? Richard and I are tied to each other in a way Rhys and I aren’t. I can’t abolish the marks any more than you can stop being fey. The marks are attracted to each other and if a little kissing is the worst they make us do then I’m happy.”  
“Tell him to get out, tell him you don’t want to see him and tell him about Rhys.”  
“I can’t just cut all ties with him. I’m Lupa to his clan, unless he replaces me I still have the job, and pack business is my business. It’s a matter of honour as much as anything else.” I looked away from her towards the trees lining the yard and caught a glimpse of light reflecting off something about waist height. I realised what it was a fraction too late. I started to dive for Merry as the bullet took me in the right shoulder, where my chest had been moments before. I spun in the air and landed on my back, knocking all the wind out of me. Merry hit the ground beside me. I pulled my Firestar left-handed from the inner pants holster I wore and pointed it in the direction of the trees but I knew whoever had been out there was already gone.  
“Fuck that hurts.” I said sitting up. “Fuck, shit asshole, bastard!” I felt a little better just for that.  
“Anita, get down!” Merry pulled on my left arm.  
“S’ok, they’re gone.”   
Merry glanced into the trees as though not believing me. When no more bullets rained down on us she helped me to my feet. My right arm was completely numb, my shoulder burning with the sensation you only get from a gunshot wound. We made it to the door when I fell to my knees and started vomiting. I’d pushed myself too far and my body didn’t like it. Merry threw the door open and screamed for Frost. The four men bundled into the kitchen just as I was starting to get up, my legs shaking violently. Merry shouted an order at each of them.  
“Frost, soda water. Nathaniel, towel. Richard, a doctor. Galen, help me get Anita to the bathroom.” Thankfully they all did as she asked and Galen and Merry helped me to the bathroom.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richard is helpful, angry, then reasonable. W.T.F.?

I sat on the edge of the enormous tub in the main bathroom with my eyes tightly closed. Lillian was trying to get the bullet out of the hole it’d made and I didn’t want to see.  
“You’re lucky it didn’t break a bone.” She was saying. I could feel whatever torture device she classed as a medical tool poking around inside my shoulder. The thought made me feel faint. I mean dizzy. Okay I mean faint. I could feel my pulse racing and my breathing was too quick. I was going to hyperventilate if I didn’t calm down but I couldn’t do it. Something brushed my knees and I felt a hand take my left one. I opened my eyes to see Richard kneeling before me. I was so engrossed in what was going on I hadn’t even felt him approach.  
“Use the marks to ease the pain.” He said.  
“I don’t know how.” I said. I glanced up to see Merry looking on disapprovingly from the doorway.  
“Open yourself to them. I’ll help you endure it.”  
“I…” I gasped in pain and Lillian sighed.  
“This would be much easier if you would lie down.”  
“Okay.” I said. “We’ll do this in my room. Richard, I’m willing to try the marks, anything to get rid of this pain”  
I lay on my bed with a towel under my shoulder. I didn’t want blood on my sheets. Richard came in next followed by Lillian with her bag of tricks. Lillian stopped Merry at the door. “Sorry, your highness. I’d like privacy for this.” Merry glanced at me and I shrugged, wincing at the pain it sent through my shoulder.  
“I’ll be right outside if you need me.” She still didn’t look happy but right now I didn’t care. I’d call the marks if it meant stopping the pain. Richard crawled onto the bed beside me and looked down at me. I thought about how many times I’d wanted to see him like this. It made things deep within me tighten, including my heart.  
“Try and relax.” He lay on his side next to me propped up on one elbow, taking my left hand in his right.  
“I don’t think I can do this, Richard.” Truth was I suddenly thought I’d rather have the pain.  
“You’ll be fine.” He said with a smile. He glanced up at Lillian then back at me. He brushed my lips softly with his own but I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. Then Richard’s power rushed over me in a crashing wave, bringing the marks to the surface. I kissed him back, slowly at first then deepening the kiss. I felt something else rising within in me and realised it was the munin. It rushed to the surface like a ravenous beast as I fed off Richard’s mouth. I was vaguely aware of Lillian poking around in my shoulder but didn’t care. I used the hold on his hand to pull him to lie almost on top of me then ran the hand into his hair, holding him close to me as I explored his mouth with my tongue. I felt Jean Claude in my mind, contacted through the marks and just after him, Rhys. Richard made a growl low in his throat and I felt his hand on my waist, untucking my t-shirt. As his hand touched my flesh I arched against him, or tried to. Lillian’s firm but gentle hand on my right arm stopped it and I came back to myself suddenly, pushing the munin back and away. I could almost feel Raina laughing at me. I swallowed down air in gulps and looked up to see Richard’s eyes amber and wolfish looking down at me.  
“Sorry.” I said.  
Richard laughed then, a deep throaty sound I didn’t think I’d ever heard from him.  
“You’re done.” Lillian said. She was smiling slightly at me. I glanced at my shoulder and saw gauze over the wound. She held up a bullet in her latex gloved hand. “Silver shot.” She said simply.  
“Silver?” I sat up slightly, propping myself on my left elbow. Richard had to move back so I wouldn’t bump him.  
“Either someone has expensive tastes or they think you’re Lupa or Nimir-Ra for real.”  
“I guess so. Could you leave the bullet for me? I’d like to see if I can find out what kind of gun it’s from.”  
“Sure.” She started getting her things together. “You’ll need to take it easy on your shoulder for the next couple of days, no quick drawing.”  
“Yes, doctor.”  
“And what about this mystery illness?”  
“It’s just a bug, I’m a lot better than I was.”  
“Well, Anita, I know you’re lying but you’re a big girl, you can look after yourself. Make sure you get plenty of rest and fluids.”  
“Thanks, Lillian.”  
“You're welcome.” She left and Merry stood in the doorway looking at Richard and I on the bed.  
“Well?”  
“Could you give us a few minutes, Merry? I need to talk to Richard.”  
“Can’t you do your talking somewhere else? Like not in the bedroom?”  
I sighed and flopped back onto the bed. “If I’m not out in ten minutes you can come drag me kicking and screaming from the room, okay?”  
She frowned at me but finally said; “Alright.” And shut the door.  
“She doesn’t seem to like me any more.” Richard stated.  
“Did you feel Jean Claude through the marks?” I asked ignoring him.  
“Yes. I thought I felt something else too, but I’m not sure.” I closed my eyes and sighed. It hadn’t just been me.  
“Something else beside Jean Claude, the marks and the munin you mean?”  
“Yeah. Like there was some other, I don’t know, magic there.”  
“There was.” I opened my eyes to look up into Richard’s puzzled face. His eyes had bled back to dark brown.  
“I don’t understand? There was another magic involved?”  
“Almost. Another person.” I sat up and crossed my legs taking up as little room as possible and putting my head in my hands. It made my shoulder twinge something horrible but it made me focus on what I was meant to be doing.  
“Who?” Richard asked quietly.  
“Rhys.”  
“Rhys? One of Merry’s guards?”  
“He’s not her guard anymore. He’s been living here. With me.” I felt Richard move off the bed and I looked up. His face had gone from one of puzzlement to anger.  
“Well you’ve just turned into the slut from hell, haven’t you?”  
“Don’t start yet, Richard. Let me explain the magic first then you can scream and shout at me all you want.” He nodded once so I continued. “Rhys and I got together a couple of months ago when I went to stay in LA with Merry. He used to be a death god and our powers are very similar.”  
“So you slept with him. Perfect reasoning.” Sarcasm dripped from his words like maple syrup.  
“I slept with him because I was attracted to him. But through his powers he’s linked to Jean Claude and through Jean Claude to me and apparently to you too.”  
“Does Jean Claude know about your sordid little love nest?”  
“Why, you going to go running to him and tell?”  
“Maybe I should.” Richard’s voice was calm but I could hear the anger in his voice, feel the tension thrumming from him like an invisible line.  
“He already knows. He’s leaching power off all of us.” That brought Richard up short. He blinked a few times and his anger turned to surprise, horror, and shock I think too.  
“He’s using the three of us for his power base?”  
“Yeah. All three of us.”  
“That…bastard!” It was one of the few times I’d heard Richard cuss. He swung his fist into the wardrobe door beside him and I heard the wood crack.  
“Hey, easy on the furniture!” I slid off the bed and walked around in front of him, touching his arm lightly. He glanced down at me then at the wardrobe.  
“Sorry.” He said. “How can you still be with Jean Claude and know what he’s using us for? I don’t understand you, Anita. I thought once I did, but not now.” He moved past me towards the door.  
“Jean Claude has an interesting theory on that one.” He stopped.  
“Go on.”  
“Jean Claude thinks that because I’ve been hurt before I can’t give myself over to a relationship fully, which is how I can love both him and Rhys at the same time.”  
He turned to look at me. “Do you believe him?”  
I sighed. “To a degree yes. I won’t give myself over to a relationship with Jean Claude fully because, well because he’s Jean Claude. Rhys is different in so much as he has a regular job, we go out together, normal relationship stuff, but he’s immortal. He’ll still look thirty when I’m dead and gone. And then there’s you.” I sat on the end of the bed, looking down at my hands. “I really messed things up with you, hurt you badly. I sometimes think ‘what if’. What if I’d just watched you change instead of being changed on top of. What if I’d been stronger and not given in to my lust for Jean Claude. What if we’d slept together earlier in the relationship.” I looked up at him as I said the last and felt tears welling up. “My biggest regret is knowing I would have been happy as Mrs Richard Zeeman. If only I’d been stronger.” As if on cue I felt a fat, wet tear run down my cheek. I swiped it away quickly and looked back at my hands, opening my eyes wide to get rid of the tears.  
“You are strong, Anita.” He knelt in front of me and took my hand. “You’re the strongest woman I know, heck you’re stronger than most men I know. But you’re still human.”  
I looked into his chocolate brown eyes. “Am I?”  
“You don’t sound sure.” He wiped another errant tear from my cheek.  
“I’m not. Not any more.”  
“Trust me, Anita. Out of the four of us, you’re the most human.” I opened my mouth to argue but he covered my lips with his hand. “If I asked you to marry me again, would you accept?”  
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head slightly. “Why are you taking this so well?”  
It was his turn to shake his head. “I thought I’d get over you. I haven’t. I still miss you.” He cupped his hand to my right cheek and I leant into it, eyes closed causing more tears to roll down my cheeks.  
“I miss you too.” I whispered.  
“I want to be with you again, but completely this time.”  
I opened my eyes and pulled away from his hand to look at him. “What are you saying, Richard?”  
He shrugged, a small smile on his lips. “I’m saying maybe I could share too.”  
I blinked at him a couple of times. “You’re joking, right?”  
He moved his hands to the base of my neck and kissed me lightly and quickly then rested his forehead against mine. “No.” He kissed me again, harder this time, all probing tongues and heat. I slid off the bed onto his lap, my legs either side of his, hands in his thick chestnut hair. He moved his hands to my back, pressing me against him, deepening the kiss until I thought he’d kiss into me, through me. I felt myself crying again although I didn’t mean to. He felt the tears against his cheek and he pulled away.  
“Anita, what’s wrong?”  
“I’m sorry, Richard. I can’t.” I pushed away from him and stood, moving to put the bed between us.   
“You can’t? You just said you regretted not marrying me and now you can’t even give us another try?” He got to his feet and moved a step closer.   
“I don’t love you like I did. I’m sorry but I’m in love with Rhys. I can’t pretend I don’t miss you, because I do. But I’m happy now, happier than I have been in months.”   
He reached out as if to touch me but dropped his hand back down by his side. “I still love you, Anita.”  
“I know, and I’m sorry.”  
“We’re always going to be linked by the marks there’s nothing we can do to change that. If we’re together fully our powers will be more than any of us could imagine.”  
“I don’t care about the power, Richard. I have enough of that to go around right now and I’m not interested in increasing it. I’m happy to help you learn to use the marks, so we can all control them better but that’s it. It can’t be any more.”  
He sighed and I heard a weariness I hadn’t heard before. “Alright. If that’s the best you can offer, all right. I don’t like it but what choice do I have?”  
“None.”  
“We should at least go and see Jean Claude. See if he knows why the four of us were in contact. It may have just been coincidence but just in case…”  
“We’ll ask Jean Claude.”  
We left the bedroom together with a strange air of calm. That had gone better than expected.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The original triumvirate hash things out.

We decided with the attempt on my life and my “illness” we should go somewhere I felt safe, so the Circus of the Damned was it. Merry, Frost and Galen were doing the tourist bit while Richard and I went to talk to Jean Claude. I’d dropped Nathaniel at Guilty Pleasures and told him to make sure someone saw him home safe. I made it an order so if he disobeyed me, I could beat him. Not that I would but the threat was there. Asher was waiting in the storage area for us when we arrived. His golden hair fell about his face, hiding his scars. He was wearing an outfit Jean Claude would have been proud of. I wondered which of the two had chosen it. The shirt was a solid white with long sleeves. Tight cuffs ran from his wrist to halfway up his forearm with a line of mother of pearl buttons. Frills ruffled at the front from his neck to where they disappeared into his tight leather pants. Soft black calf length patent boots finished his outfit. I was suddenly glad I’d gotten a little dressed up at least. That is to say I’d put on a short-sleeved scarlet shirt that was fitted to my waist and clean black jeans. A black cardigan hid my Browning.  
“Asher, you look lovely.” I said as he took my hand for a kiss.  
“As do you, ma cherie. Are you feeling better?”  
“A little, thank you.”  
“Jean Claude is waiting for you both.” He waved towards the door that led down to the lower levels that were Jean Claude’s home.  
“Aren’t you coming?”  
“No, mon amore. This is between you, Jean Claude and Monsieur Zeeman.”  
“Okay.” I said and started towards the door. Richard fell into step beside me on the wide steps.  
Jean Claude was waiting for us when we reached the bottom, lounging against the wall. “My, my, what a pretty picture the two of you make.” He actually looked pleased to see us, which was worrying in itself.   
“I think you know why we’re here, Jean Claude.” I said hugging my left arm over the right to make it look like I was crossing my arms. Lillian had insisted I wear a sling for at least 24 hours after Richard and my kissing incident reopened the wound. Strapping my right hand to my left shoulder was the best way to keep it immobile but it left my gun hand unusable. That’s why I practice with both hands.  
“The marks.” He said and walked into his rooms.  
We followed him, Richard letting me walk through the door first.  
“What the fuck happened earlier?” I asked immediately.  
“I did nothing, ma petite. I seem to recall feeling something from you both and…”  
“That’s not what I meant. I can understand the three of us feeling something but how did Rhys get involved too?”  
“Apparently the links between ourselves and Rhys are more solid than we thought.” He shrugged.  
“Yeah, no shit Sherlock, so what do we do about it?”  
“We bask in our new found talent, ma petite.”  
“How did I know you were going to say that?”  
“You know me too well.”  
“I know you well enough to know you’re a power hungry bastard.”  
“I will not deny that this is an unexpected turn of events, although not one I am unhappy about. The power does not only help me, ma petite, but also Richard, and even yourself. Embrace it.” He looked at me properly for the first time and I saw him do a double take at my strapped up arm. “What has happened to your arm?”  
“She was shot.” Richard said calmly as though it was an everyday occurrence. Okay, so it almost was, I was always being shot at, but rarely hit.  
“Shot? By whom?”  
“The guy with the gun.” I said.  
“You mean you did not kill him?” He put a hand on his chest in mock horror. “Ma petite, I am surprised at you.”  
“I was kind of rolling around on the floor at the time. I wasn’t expecting to be shot in my own back yard.”  
“Do you have any idea who it may have been?”  
“Whoever it was used silver bullets.” Richard said.  
“Silver?”  
“Yeah, silver. We think they might think I’m Lupa or Nimir-Ra for real.”  
“But they did not kill you.”  
“I think that was more luck than anything else.” I saw Richard turn to look at me.  
“You don’t think they were only trying to wound you?” He asked.  
“No. If I hadn’t seen the light glinting off the scope and jumped to the ground, it would have been a chest shot. I’d have bitten the big one.”  
“You don’t seem too bothered.”  
I shrugged and winced at the pain. “I’m still alive. What’s there to be bothered about?”  
“Someone just tried to kill you.”  
“And failed. If I’m not dead I’m happy.”  
The phone started to ring on Jean Claude’s table and he moved to answer it. I was getting sick of hearing phones ring today.  
“Anita, it’s for you.” He held the receiver out to me. **“Rhys.”** His voice said in my mind. I nodded once and took the phone from him.  
“Hi, Rhys.”  
“Anita, what’s going on? Something happened earlier, I don’t…”  
“It’s okay. We know what it was, it’s what we’re discussing right now.”  
“What happened?”  
I sighed. “There was an incident earlier and Richard and I called the marks. For some reason you got called in too. We don’t understand why, but it happened.”  
“Okay.” He didn’t sound sure. “I’m kind of upset that Richard is there but kind of glad too. I think I’ve found a break in the case I’m on. I think the guy may be a lycanthrope, but I’m not sure.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah. Any chance you could get Richard to come out and have a look at him, see if he can sense anything?”  
“I’ll speak to him.” I turned my back to the rest of the room although I knew both Richard and Jean Claude would still be able to hear me, ah the illusion of privacy. “You want me to come too?”  
“Worried we might come to blows?”  
I sighed. I really didn’t think that either Rhys or Richard would beat up on each other but if they did it was over me so the least I could do would be to be there. “No, but I’d like to come anyway. Maybe I could bring Merry, I know she’s disappointed about you not being here.”  
“It’d be nice to see both of you, you especially.” That made me smile. “Why don’t you just come alone, you could stay over at the hotel.” His voice held the tone I recognised as Rhys at his suggestive best.  
“What about Merry?”  
“She can stay over too.”  
“Rhys…”  
“You know I’m kidding, Anita.” It was his turn to sigh. “This is the longest we’ve been apart in months, I’m missing you.”  
“I’m missing you too. Let me see what I can do here and I’ll call you back. Are you at the hotel or on your cell?”  
“On the cell. I’m sitting outside the woods where I lost him at the moment.”  
“Okay, I’ll call you back shortly.”  
“I love you, Anita. Call soon.”  
“I will. I love you too, Rhys.” I hung up without saying goodbye. I cursed myself slightly, Dolph had passed his habit on and now it had a firm grip on me.  
I turned back to the room to find Richard at the far end leaning against the wall, Jean Claude stood watching me, face blank as always.  
“I don’t think I need to repeat myself for you guys, I know you heard. Richard, you up for a trip to Columbia?” He turned to look at me, hurt clear in his eyes. “Or can you recommend someone else we could take?” I said quickly. I suddenly realised how weird it was to ask your ex-fiancé to help out your new boyfriend. Freud would have had a field day with me.  
“If Jean Claude okay’s it, take Jason.” His voice was quiet and I realised how hard it must have been for him to hear the conversation with Rhys. He’d offered me his heart earlier and I’d given it back without so much as a 'gee, thanks.' I didn’t know what to say to him. Apologising seemed kind of inadequate.  
Jean Claude came to my rescue by breaking the silence. “Jason can go with you. Will you go tonight, ma petite?”  
“It’s still early.” I shrugged. “If the guy comes back out of the woods then Jason can take a look at him. If not Rhys will have wasted a whole other night.”  
“And what of Meredith?”  
“I’ll go find her and ask her if she wants to come along.”  
“Take Asher with you to find her. You should not be walking around alone, either because of the attempt on your life or your illness.” As if on cue the door opened and Asher entered. I walked towards him but stopped when I was level with Richard. We stared at each other for a few moments until finally I said; “Goodbye, Richard.” And went with Asher out of the door and up the stairs to the circus beyond.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anita makes a confession and ROADTRIP!

We finally found Merry at one of the shooting galleries. She had a rifle to her shoulder and was taking out plastic duckies. Hardly a fair match but she handled the gun well even if it was only a BB gun. Asher and I stood quietly by the booth watching her take out duck after duck. A small crowd had gathered to watch but Frost stood at her back, Galen to one side, protecting her as the most precious thing in their world. I wondered at their situation and if my life depended on it would I try and get pregnant? Answer, I don’t know. I watched them, thinking about their choices. Merry would be tied to whoever got her pregnant forever, which is a pretty long time for a fey. Okay, so Merry was mortal and would probably live to about two hundred but it was still one hell of a long time. I leant back against Asher and he put his left arm around mine to hold my hand against me. As his fingertips brushed my abdomen I realised what I’d been subconsciously doing. I’d been caressing my stomach, like you see any pregnant woman doing. The thought made every muscle in my body tighten and a cold sweat break out on my skin. Asher tightened his grip on my hand and spoke into my hair; “Are you alright, ma cherie?”  
“Fine.” I sighed and stepped towards Merry out of his embrace.  
I explained to Merry and the guards that Rhys needed my help and that they were welcome to tag along. They said they would and we walked back towards Jean Claude’s rooms. I managed to get Merry to walk ahead of the men out of earshot, hopefully even out of Asher’s earshot.  
“Merry?”  
“Yes?” She turned to look at me as we went past a coconut shy.  
“I’m hungry.”  
“That’s great, you must be feeling better. What do you want?”  
I frowned slightly and put an apologetic smile on my face. “Dill pickles and peanut butter.” I said. I felt ashamed as soon as I’d said it. She just stood and looked at me wide eyed, realising I’d admitted to the fact I might have been…well, you know.  
“Exactly.” I said.  
“I don’t think we’re going to get enough time on our own to get you that.” She said quietly.  
“I know. Don’t worry about it; I’m not going to mention it. Knowing these guys they’d just think I’d gone nuts anyway but still. I’d rather not give anyone any clues.”  
“So you think you might really be?”  
“I’m not sure. But it’s starting to look that way, maybe.”  
“Anyone else I’d congratulate, you I’m not sure what to say.”  
“Then don’t say anything at all.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Rhys in MO.

Several hours later we arrived at the Baymont Inn. I’d hurriedly packed a bag and having thrown all our luggage into my jeep we’d got on the road. Merry and the two Ravens checked us in while Jason and I went to meet Rhys.  
He was parked in the parking lot of a nature reserve lined with trees. One other car stood empty on the gravel. I told Jason to stay put and walked the short distance to Rhys’ car. I knocked on the passenger window then got in.  
“Sometimes I really wish we had some kind of psychic link.” Rhys said as I got in the car. I turned towards him and caught the glint of silver at his throat. I could see startling green eyes in the darkness of the back seat and two white hands holding Rhys’ forehead with one, the knife with the other.  
“Who’s your friend?” I asked him, ignoring whoever was in the back seat.  
“No idea. Think he’s a friend of the guy I’m watching.”  
“Oh, right. Why is he still alive?”  
“Shut up or I’ll kill him.” Came a gravely voice from the seat behind. I raised an eyebrow and turned back to Rhys. As a fey the only thing that could really hurt him was steel or iron and from the high gleam on the knife, it wasn’t steel. I’m sure he’d heal just fine from a slit throat. Hopefully.  
“Like I said, why haven’t you killed him?”  
Rhys smiled slightly. “Thought he might be able to give me a clue.” The knife tightened on his throat and a trickle of blood ran onto the blade.  
“Screw clues, kill him.”  
“I’ll do it.” The voice was rising in pitch; I don’t think they were use to being ignored when they were trying to be threatening.  
“Listen,” I turned towards the shadow in the back, the seat blocked my body from his view and I drew the Firestar left-handed, the right still strapped to my shoulder. “Firstly, you aren’t going to kill him with that knife. He’s a fey and he’ll heal. When he’s healed, he’ll be pissed and you’ll be right at the top of his things to kill list. Secondly, I don’t think you’re meant to kill anyone, you’re supposed to deliver a message. And finally, I have a gun pointed at you. If you so much as breathe without my say so I’ll put a hole in you so big people will think you’re a donut. Any questions?”  
The knife wavered at Rhys’ throat for a moment then disappeared back into the darkness. “No questions.” Came the voice angrily.  
“Fine, now deliver your message and get the fuck out of here.”  
There was a low snarl from the back seat then the voice returned. “Consider this a warning. Stop following our members.” The door opened and I watched the figure disappear into the night.  
“I have a gun pointed at him and he tells us it’s a warning.” I put the gun up and turned back to Rhys, smiling. “Hi.”  
“Hi yourself. What happened to your arm?”  
“Shoulder had an argument with a bullet. How’s your throat?”   
“I’ll survive.” He said touching the line of blood with his fingertips. He wiped them on the seat. Ah Rhys, my first boyfriend in a long time that didn’t feel compelled to lick the blood from his fingers. It was a nice change. “But tell me about your shoulder.” I did and he shook his head. “It’s something when you’re not even safe at home.”  
“It was only a matter of time until someone realised where we’d moved to. It’s not like we were trying to keep it quiet either.”  
“I guess. How are you feeling besides the shoulder?”  
I toyed with the idea of telling Rhys mine and Merry's suspicions, for about five seconds, and then decided to avoid it. “Better than I was. Jean Claude did something with the marks to reduce the symptoms. I’ve not been as ill, but I’m still not eating too much.”  
“You never eat anyway.” He said with a laugh.  
“If I’m hungry, I’ll eat.” I shrugged. “I hate to tell you to give up, Rhys, but your cover’s blown. All you can do now is report your suspicions back to his wife.”  
“I know. I don’t like it but I know. Hell, I’m normally better than this.”  
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” I took his hand. “They’re lycanthropes, they could probably smell you coming. Our friend from the back seat was definitely a were of some kind, but I don’t know what. I think it’s safe to say that if he’s one of their members, the guy you’re following is a were too.”  
He brushed his fingertips over my knuckles, making the hairs on my arm stand up.  
“You’re always right, why is that?”  
“I’m a woman.” I said with a smile. “Jason and I will meet you back at the hotel.” I leant across and place a gentle kiss on his lips. He put a hand on my upper arms, stopping me from moving back from him and kissed me harder. I reached my left hand up to rest against his chest until I could feel his heart hammering against my hand. We opened our mouths to each other at the same time, taking it in turns to explore each other. I tried to move closer to him but found it difficult in the close confines of the car. I pulled away reluctantly.  
“We need to get back to the hotel.” I said quietly.  
“Damn right.” He replied.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confirmation.

In the car on the way back Jason confirmed my thoughts that the guy in the back of Rhys’ car was a lycanthrope but didn’t know what kind. Jeez, we were just getting better and better on this one. At least Rhys could report back to this guys wife that he was hanging out with lycanthropes. It was better than nothing I suppose.  
Merry was waiting in the bar with the guards when we got back. I cursed under my breath slightly. First day I felt well enough to get physical and I couldn’t get any time alone. Dammit. After she’d greeted Rhys with the most intimate hug I think I’d ever seen, she took me to one side and gave me a brown paper bag.  
“I got you the shopping you wanted,” she said loud enough for everyone to hear. “What shopping?” I asked quietly.  
“We’ll just take it up to your room while the boys catch up.”   
“Okay.” I was starting to wonder just what was in the bag. We went to Rhys’ room, sorry, our room, and I emptied the bag out onto the bed. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I stared down at a jar of dill pickles, a jar of peanut butter and a pregnancy testing kit.  
“Gee, Merry, you bring me the nicest gifts.”  
“I thought you could use all three.”  
“How the hell did you manage to get these subtly?”  
“I just said you’d said you need to go shopping and pick up a few bits, the pregnancy test was easy. I told the boys it was a girl thing and they left me alone pretty quickly.”  
I’d opened the pickles by putting the jar between my knees, while she spoke and was crunching my way through the first one. “I hope you’re not expecting me to do this now?” I nodded towards the testing kit.  
“No time like the present.” She opened the box and waved one of the sticks at me. I frowned at her, sighed and even pouted a little. I really didn’t want to know. I mean, ignorance is bliss, right? She waved it like a pendulum in front of my face.  
“Okay, but take this sling off me first. It’s hard enough going to the bathroom one handed never mind trying to pee on that thing too.” My voice was hostile, not towards Merry but at myself. I was so mad at myself right now. Merry unfastened the sling and I flexed my shoulder, it was feeling better already. I lifted the corner of the gauze and swore slightly. Not only had it started healing, it’d started healing over the stitches Lillian had put in.  
“Got any scissors, Merry?”  
“Yeah, in my room.”  
“Could you get them? These stitches need to come out now.” She looked over at my shoulder.  
“How the hell is that healing already?”  
“The marks, they make me heal quicker.”  
“Okay. I’ll get the scissors, you pee on the stick.” I frowned at her again. “No pouting, Anita, just get in the bathroom and do it.”  
“God damnit.” I said under my breath and went into the bathroom.  
When Merry came back into the room I was sitting on the bed dipping pickles in peanut butter. It tasted soooo good.  
“Well?” she asked as she snipped the stitches out.  
“It’s in the bathroom.”  
“And?”  
“And I didn’t look yet. I don’t know if I want to know.”  
“Anita, you need to know, one way or another.”  
“Yeah, but I don’t know if I want to know right now.”  
“You can’t put it off forever.” She frowned at me. “You think it’s going to be positive, don’t you?”  
I shrugged. “I’ve had what amounts to morning sickness for a week, I don’t remember when my last period was and now I’m getting cravings for weird foods. I’ve never been big at math but it doesn’t take a genius to figure this one out.”  
She walked away to the bathroom. I kept dipping my pickles. She came back out and the look on her face said it all.  
“Well when you’re right, you’re right.”  
“I couldn’t be wrong just this once, could I?”  
“What now?” She sat beside me on the bed.  
“Get used to the idea I guess.” I put the pickles and peanut butter on the bedside.  
“You know that children are sacred to the fey. If you and Rhys are a mating pair, our law says you must marry.”  
“But what if it’s not Rhys’?”  
“Can vampires really…?”  
“Yeah. Don’t ask me to explain, but they can.”  
“You aren’t considering any other options?” I could almost feel her getting ready to be mad.  
“I’m a good little catholic girl, remember? There are no other options.”  
She put her arm round me and pulled me into a side embrace. I’d faced off against vamps, were-allsorts, demons and mystical creatures yet here I was terrified, truly terrified, by the fact I was expecting a baby. Shit.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anita is thoughtful, Jason calls her out and Rhys gets suspicious.

Merry and I ditched the test in the public bathrooms of the hotel on the way back to the bar. I didn’t know how I was going to approach the subject with the men in my life but now didn’t seem the time. I’d get used to the idea first then tell them. Letting Rhys find a positive pregnancy test in our bathroom sort of seemed like a cowardly way of doing it. Chances were it was his. I’d always been so careful with Jean Claude for obvious reasons but I knew for a fact there’d been at least two times with Rhys we hadn’t used any extra precautions.  
I was distant; I knew it and couldn’t do a damn thing about it. I kept going over it in my mind over and over, but it didn’t seem to be getting any easier to accept. I was going to be somebody’s mother. I risked a coke from the bar and sat staring into space, sipping it slowly. Someone was talking but I wasn’t really listening.  
“Anita?” I focused to see Rhys leaning towards me in his chair and he was frowning at me. “You okay?  
I nodded and smiled at him. “I’m fine.”  
“Merry just asked if you were up to eating something, whether we should book a table in the restaurant in the hotel or go out.”  
I turned to look at her. She raised an eyebrow at me. I think it meant I should eat. I smiled at her and nodded. “Let’s eat here. I can’t be bothered to go anywhere.” Galen and Jason moved off to arrange the table and I turned my attention back to Rhys. Our chairs were near enough that our knees almost touched and I held out a hand for him to take. He did and I squeezed it gently. He smiled at me then and it made my heart tight. If I was going to have this baby, I was glad it was going to be with Rhys. Hopefully. I swallowed hard past a lump I hadn’t realised was in my throat. I was getting emotional again and it could get embarrassing. I never got emotional usually and I had visions of me crying in the middle of a vamp execution, sobbing as I blew them away. It would have been funny if it weren’t me I was thinking about. Rhys leant further towards me.  
“What’s wrong? You’ve been distant all evening.”  
“I know. Sorry. The threat against the Pard and the Pack’s getting to me, I think.”  
“Liar.” Said Jason coming up to stand behind me, his hands on my shoulders. “You’re scared, but it’s not for the Pack or the Pard.”  
“How can you tell?” Rhys asked.  
“She’s lying. I can tell that much and she’s scared. So if she’s lying it must be that she’s not scared for the Pack or Pard, but something else.”  
“Shut up, Jason.” I said none too friendly. He took his hands off my shoulders and moved back to his seat.  
“Just saying it as I smell it, Anita, that’s all.”  
“Table’s booked, we can go through when everyone’s ready.” Galen said as he slid into his seat beside Merry. Guess whose turn it was tonight? Everyone finished their drinks and we stood to go through to the restaurant. Rhys kept his hold on my hand and held me back from the rest of the group.  
“What’s really wrong, Anita?”  
“Not now, Rhys. I’ll tell you later, okay?”  
“Okay.”   
I put my arms around his waist and hugged him tight. He seemed a little surprised at first but wrapped his arms around my shoulders holding me close to him. He was only three inches taller than me meaning I could rest my head on his shoulder comfortably. “Promise you’ll tell me tonight?”  
“I promise I’ll tell you later.”  
“But maybe not tonight?”  
“Maybe not. It’s okay, Rhys. Really it is. Trust me on this.”  
“We agreed no secrets.” I leant back and looked at him.  
“It’s not a secret. I just don’t know quite what I’m going to say yet. Let me get my head around it first, that’s all I ask.”  
“Okay. Twenty four hours, then you tell me.”  
“An ultimatum, huh?”  
“Yeah. I want to know what’s got you so scared.”  
Normally the ultimatum would have pissed me off, but if could already feel myself needing to tell him, I just didn’t know how to put it. “Alright, in twenty-four hours I’ll tell you, whether I’m ready or not.”  
We walked towards the restaurant, arms around each other. I started to wonder what Rhys would think to being a househusband. And then realised I’d have to ask Bert for parental leave…oh this just kept getting better and better!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Menagerie just keep trying to piss Anita off.

I ordered some plain rice and chicken thinking maybe bland would be best. I realised when I started eating I was starving and managed to put away my full plate and three bread rolls. Merry and I were just negotiating desserts when my pager went off. It was Dolph’s car phone. I made my excuses and left the table. The concierge let me use the courtesy phone in reception and Dolph answered after one ring.  
“Anita?”  
“It’s me, Dolph.”  
“Are you up to a ride out?”  
“I’m feeling quite a bit better, so yeah. Where are you?”  
“Waters Memorial State Wildlife Area in Columbia. How soon can you be here?”  
“About twenty minutes, if I leave now.”  
“Twenty minutes? Where are you?”  
“Baymont Inn, downtown Columbia.”  
“Okay, get here soon.” He hung up. I checked my watch, eleven thirty. I went back to our table but didn’t sit down.  
“I have to go. Don’t wait up, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”  
“Where are you going?” Rhys got to his feet.  
“Dolph needs me. I don’t know what for yet, but it’s here in Columbia so I won’t be late.”  
“I’ll come with you.”  
“Rhys, you have guests, you need to be the good host and stay with Merry.”  
“It’s fine, Anita, really, take Rhys with you.” Merry chipped in. “We can catch up tomorrow.”  
“If you’re sure?”  
“I’m sure. You two have some talking to do anyway.” She winked at me.  
I felt all eyes fall on me as I smiled at Merry, making sure it didn’t reach my eyes. “Yeah, thanks for that.” I turned and walked towards the lobby with Rhys at my side.  
“So Merry knows what’s bothering you but you can’t tell me?” I could hear the hurt in his voice as he spoke.  
“Please, Rhys, I told you I’d tell you when I’m ready.”  
“Why can you tell Merry and not me?”  
“Merry’s not personally involved. She’s a good outside opinion.”  
“So it’s a personal problem.”  
“It involves you and me, yeah.” I unlocked my jeep and climbed in. Rhys continued talking after the doors were shut.  
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy?” I turned and looked into his hurt face, I saw fear there.  
“Of course I’m happy. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time and it’s because you’re in my life.”  
“Then what?”   
“Twenty-four hours, Rhys. You promised too remember?”  
“Yes but that was when I thought it involved the Pack or the Pard, not you and me.”  
“Let me do this crime scene, okay? Let me get this out of the way and I’ll tell you.”  
“If that’s the best offer I’m going to get, then sure. I’ll take it.”  
“Thanks.”  
We drove to the scene in silence. Waters Memorial was the state park I’d met Rhys at earlier and I wondered if it was coincidence that hours after we’d been threatened by a lycanthrope I was being called to a crime scene there.  
The car that had been parked when we were there was gone. In its place was the usual assortment of plain and marked police cars, mostly with lights flashing. I clipped my RPIT badge on my lapel and picked up my coveralls. The uniforms in the parking lot called Dolph to come to confirm whether to let Rhys on the scene or not. I really didn’t expect him to be but he was about as much a civilian as I was. Not having a badge isn’t the only thing that makes a civie.  
Dolph came out of the tree line towards us, frowning.  
“Anita. I didn’t realise you were bringing a guest.”  
“This is Rhys, he’s my, erm…”  
“Bodyguard.” Said Rhys, offering a hand. Dolph took it and shook it. He kept his eyes on Rhys as he spoke to me.  
“Since when do you have a bodyguard?”  
“Since someone took pot-shots at her in our backyard.” Rhys continued.  
“Your backyard?” Dolph raised an eyebrow. “So you’re the mysterious fey Zebrowski’s been talking about.”  
“Not mysterious anymore.” Rhys smiled.  
“Yeah, yeah. Rhys is the fey guard who’s been living with me, everyone’s happy, I got shot in my own backyard and I need someone around to watch my back. Can we get this over with?”  
“Wait, you were actually shot?” Dolph turned his gaze back to me.  
“Yes, Dolph, I was shot but not bad, I’m fine.”  
“If someone is after you…”  
“Don’t worry, at a crime scene full of cops and being followed around by Rhys, I think I’m safe.”  
“Who was it?”  
“I don’t know.” I shrugged.  
“Anita…”  
“I don’t know, alright? He ran off once I was on the ground.”  
“And you have no idea who’d want to kill you?”  
I raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re kidding, right?”  
Rhys laughed. “Anita must have more people after her blood at any one time than any world leader.”  
Dolph frowned at us making light of it. “But you can’t think of anyone specific at the moment?”  
“No, Dolph, we can’t think of anyone specific right now.” I repeated dutifully.  
He nodded once. “Fine. Rhys can come to the scene but no coming too close to the scene and you do as you’re told.”  
“Yes, sir!” Rhys saluted.  
“And no making light of the situation either,” I said as Dolph led the way into the trees, “Unless one of us does it first, okay?”  
“Okay.” His cell-phone started to ring and he hung back to answer it as I followed Dolph through the small path that a hundred hikers feet had trampled out before us.  
I heard Rhys come up behind me and I stopped, turning to meet him.  
“It’s Jean Claude.” He said holding the phone out to me.  
“Hi.” I said.  
“Ma petite, please do not tell me you are out?” He sounded worried.  
“I’m at a crime scene, Jean Claude. What’s wrong?”  
“Le Menagerie has struck again. They took Stephen and tortured him, they told him to pass on the message that you were next and this time you would not be so lucky.”  
I felt anger rising in me. Stephen was on my list of people I would kill to protect. “Is he alright?”  
“He will heal, ma petite. But they are looking for you now. I am coming to you for protection and bringing Asher.”  
“Thanks, Jean Claude. How long until you’ll be here?”  
“An hour, ma petite, maybe less. Where are you?” I told him. “I will be there as soon as I can. One more thing. Stephen said one of them changed in front of him.”  
“What were they?”  
“Strangely enough, a badger. Take care, ma petite. Je t’adore.”  
“You too, Jean Claude.” I hung up. “The Menagerie hit Stephen. Jean Claude and Asher are on their way here for extra back up. They think they’re coming after me next.” He went to put his left arm around my shoulder for comfort but I stepped away from him. “Don’t block my gun hand, Rhys.”  
“Sorry. I forget.” He smiled a half smile.  
“One of those who attacked him was a were-badger.”  
“A badger?”  
“Yeah. That’s a new one on me too. We’d better get to the scene.” I suddenly didn’t feel comfortable out in the woods and wanted out of here as soon as possible.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another night, another crime scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, peeps this is your WARNING - THE ANGST STARTS HERE! 
> 
> Lots of tears and talking after this chapter, some arguing, but Edward shows up, so that's not a bad thing!

The body was fresh which was disconcerting in the least; it meant whatever had attacked it wasn’t far away. It was a man this time. He didn’t look like he was dressed for hiking, more like an illicit liaison, or even something as simple as a date. Even with the smell of blood and guts I could smell his aftershave. The front of his blue dress shirt was ripped apart, blood soaking everything. His lower intestines hung out like worms trying to escape a ripe peach. I thanked the lord for small mercies. The stench would have been worse if they’d ruptured. Scratch marks covered the mans arms as though he’d held up his arms to protect himself, although they now lay above his head, wrists together as though waiting to be tied. His throat was torn open, his voice box gone. Rough teeth marks were all around the wound, not quite animal but not quite human either. Dolph stood over me like the man-mountain he was, watching as I measured the teeth marks. “Any ideas?” He asked.  
“Whatever it was, wasn’t in full animal form”  
“Explain.”  
“The teeth marks aren’t right. They’re neither human nor animal. Sort of halfway between. Did you get anything back from the first body yet?”  
“A few things.”  
“But you don’t want to influence me.”  
“You’re no good to me if you’re thinking inside the box.” He said with a smile.  
“I guess not.” I glanced behind me towards Rhys and saw Zebrowski walking towards him. Great. I looked back at the corpse’s face and noticed for the first time something in its mouth. It was half open but it looked like it might have had a gag over its mouth at some point. I moved to its head and gently pushed the mouth open with my fingers inside. The jaw dropped open and I started slightly, but not enough for anyone to notice. There was something sticky inside the mouth and as I pulled my hand away it trailed the thing like grey cotton candy. I didn’t know what to do with my hand now it was covered in the stuff so I looked up at Dolph.  
“Did you get a sample of this?”  
“No.” He waved over someone in a coverall not unlike my own and they took my glove from me and sealed it in one of those neat little bags. I leant back on my heels as a wave of nausea took me. I’d done really well up till now. I closed my eyes for a moment and felt dizzy. I wobbled to one side and put my now bare hand out to catch me. I opened my eyes as my hands hit the wrist of the dead man. I pulled it back quickly and found more of the sticky stuff on my fingers. I rubbed them together slightly and looked up at Dolph.  
“It feels like cobwebs.”  
“Cobwebs?” He crouched down beside me.  
“Yeah, cobwebs.” I moved around again so I could look closer at the victim’s hands. The cobweb stuff was all over the wrists. I held the hands and lifted them up so I could see underneath. Sure enough the cobweb was all over his wrists. I went down onto my elbows for a better look. “This isn’t random, he was tied up.” I squinted in the half-light given off by the spotlights the squad had rigged up. I pulled my pen light from my pocket and put it in my mouth. I swapped hands so I held the arms up with my bare hand and probed the cobwebs with my gloved hand. Something was stuck in the middle of the cobwebs. I pulled it away and came back with grey hair, scratch that, grey fur. Not pure grey but grey like a cat, flecked with black and white. I held it out and showed Dolph.   
“You’re earning your money tonight.” He said waving the technician over with another baggie. The fur had stuck to my glove so I put it all in together. “Any ideas as to what it could be?”  
“Maybe.” An idea was hatching. “I hate to say spiders but what else makes cobwebs? But the bites…spiders don’t bite like that. Normally it’s just to main incisors for piercing, poisoning, draining the blood. This guy was eaten again. Have the hair checked for badger though.”  
“Badger?”  
“It might prove to be nothing but…” I shrugged. “It’s better than nothing.”  
“Why badger?”  
“Let’s just call it a hunch.” I got to my feet. “What did you learn from the first scene?”  
“We were all right on that one. It was a were-bear.”  
“A bear? That’s a new one, even on me.”  
“Nothing new though. We thought we knew what kind of lycanthrope we were looking for but now you’re talking about spiders and badgers…”  
“Don’t assume I’m right, Dolph. I could be completely off.”  
“But you’re not often.”  
“No.” I smiled. “Not often. Any other clues?”  
“Only that there were two other cars in the parking lot earlier tonight. Witness statement shows that.”  
“Witness? You have a witness?”  
“Not to the crime but who said he passed here earlier and there were two cars in the lot earlier.”  
“Actually there were three.”   
He frowned at me. “How do you know that?”  
“I was in one of the cars. Two of them actually.” I explained to him about meeting Rhys here as he was on a case then we all left. “And that’s not all. When I got here a lycanthrope had Rhys at knifepoint in the car. We scared him off but not before he warned Rhys off.”  
Dolph was taking notes in his pad like the good little cop he was. Okay, maybe not little, but good cop. He asked me what time, to describe the man and the other car. Finally we walked over to Rhys.  
“I’d like all the information you have on the man you were following.”  
“I can’t do that, Sergeant Storr. Sorry.” Dolph tried his piercing look at Rhys, but Rhys wasn’t fazed by it and seeing as he’d been working for Queen Andais all these years, I wasn’t surprised. “It’s confidential. If my client says okay, then I can share information. Until then, it’s a breach of trust.”  
“I could have you arrested for withholding information.”  
“Fine. Police car this way?” He started walking away from us. Dammit he could be as stubborn as me sometimes.  
“Alright, alright.” Rhys stopped and turned back to us. You couldn’t see it in the dark but I knew he was grinning. “Speak to your client then come straight back to us.” Dolph was frowning still.  
“Of course. First thing tomorrow.”  
“Thanks for your help, Anita.”  
“You’re welcome, Dolph. I’m at the Baymont tonight if you need me.” I slipped out of my coveralls.  
“Sure.”  
“Zebrowski.” I nodded as I went past.  
“Blake.” He said as I walked away with Rhys. He was smiling broadly. “Good to meet you, Rhys. We’ll have to go out for that drink sometime.”  
“Sure thing.” Rhys replied.  
“Please tell me you and Zebrowski didn’t organise a play date?”  
“He just said we should get together for a beer sometime.” He shrugged.  
“Don’t tell him a damn thing about me, okay?”  
“Erm, okay.”  
I stopped and looked at him, not liking the way he said the last. “What did you tell him?”  
“Nothing that he didn’t already seem to know. That we were living together and that I was one of Merry’s guards.”  
“Goddamit.” I started walking again. “Shit, Rhys, I’ll never live this down.”  
“They seem like a nice bunch of guys. Why would they give you grief about me?”  
I stopped again and looked back. “Zebrowski!” I called and saw him look round. “Get your butt over here!” He walked quickly towards us. “Look at his tie.” I said before he was in earshot.  
“What’s up?” He asked when he was stood in front of us. Rhys glanced down at his tie then back at me.  
“Penguins.” He said.  
“Yeah, penguins.” I said and walked off again.  
“Oh, Blake, I thought you hadn’t noticed!” Zebrowski's voice followed me through the woods.   
Rhys caught up with me several feet later. “I don’t get it.”  
“You’re kidding?” He shook his head. “What’s in my bedroom, Rhys?”  
“Our bedroom, you mean?”  
“Whatever, just answer the question.”  
“I’m guessing I’m supposed to say your stuffed penguin collection.”  
“Bingo. They saw it last year and since then there’ve been penguins turning up at every crime scene I got to and even in their office.”  
“Why’s it such a big deal?”  
“Because I’ve always been one of the guys. It was a…pleasant surprise to find I had a cuddly side. It’d be like the grief you guys would give Doyle if you found out he secretly had bunny slippers.” I felt him turn his bright blue eye on me and even in the dark I knew the expression he had on his face. “Okay, maybe not that exactly, but it’s the opportunity they’d been waiting for to rib me, mercilessly.”  
We were part way down the trail when I heard movement. I stopped dead and looked around. The flashing strobes of the police cars were no longer in front of us. Somehow we’d followed a wrong track and we weren’t where we were supposed to be.  
“Where the fuck are we?”   
Rhys stopped then too and looked around. “I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more, Toto.” He said and it made me smile. Rhys wasn’t the fan of musicals Richard was but for every film noir classic we watched, we watched a musical. Compromise at its best.  
“Let’s back track.” I turned as we started back down the path. Suddenly the mark connecting me to Richard flared and I had a sense of something furred running through the woods. I looked around sharply hoping to see or hear something but there was nothing to see or hear. My shoulders sung with tension and I could feel the power in the air thrumming against my skin. There was a lycanthrope nearby. I found I had my Browning in my hand without realising it. Good for me.  
“What’s wrong?” Rhys asked in a low whisper, his own gun in his hand.  
“There’s something out…shit!” I didn’t get a chance to finish as something large and furry slammed into Rhys taking him to the ground. I stared down at the thing on top of Rhys. It was part man form, part big cat, cougar I thought. Definitely not leopard. I know leopards. I aimed the gun but dare not shoot. I’d changed ammo recently at Edward’s suggestion and the Hornady XTP would make a damn big hole in the cat-man and Rhys too. Since I’d started dealing with fey I’d kept steel bullets around just in case, they were also good warning shots for damaging shapeshifters. I always kept the first two bullets in the clip as steel but if I fired a warning shot into the cat-man, Rhys would be just as dead. I did the only other thing I could think of. I fired into the ground as near to them as I dared and screamed as loud as I could. I knew if the cops heard me they’d be out here in a flash.  
Rhys was struggling to keep the cat-mans claws from slicing him up and I didn’t have to think twice before jumping into the fray to help. I put up the Browning and jumped on the cat-man’s back putting an arm around its throat. He bucked against me trying to throw me while still trying to scratch the shit out of Rhys. It was failing miserably and realised this, throwing its concentration into one task. As I was flung from its back, Rhys launched it with his feet, pushing it off and away from him. I went sideways, the cat-man went backwards. I saw Rhys flip to his feet, show off, as I rolled in the foliage back to my feet. Movement came from around us and with one look at each other we ran back down the path. I opened the mark with Richard and grabbed Rhys’ hand, pulling him through the trees behind me. I didn’t so much run through the trees as flowed through them, knowing where every branch, tree and stump would be. I’d done this once before but it had been Richard who had led the way.  
**“Ma petite?”** I heard Jean Claude in my head and I lost concentration. I fell hard with Rhys on top of me, momentarily winded.  
**“We’re here Jean Claude, we need help.”** I sent back to him.  
Rhys climbed off me and pulled me to my feet. I could see a gap in the trees ahead marking a clearing and we headed towards it. I could feel whatever else was out there moving through the woods like shadows and realised we were outnumbered, our only hopes being that Jean Claude and Dolph get to us.  
The moment we hit the clearing I sensed motion from above us and I spun, hand going for my Browning. I had the impression of pale grey feathers and flapping then a vice like grip on my shoulders and I was airborne, my hand snatched from Rhys’.  
I looked up at the bird that had hold of me, no, bird wasn’t right. Owl came to mind but not. I realised with a start wereowl was the word I was looking for. It was mostly owl and definitely male. Its wingspan must have been at least eight feet; making this the hugest fucking were-anything I’d ever seen.  
As he glanced down at me I realised this was only his half-owl form, slightly beaked features smiled down at me with a very human mouth. And the smile wasn’t a pleasant one.   
I looked down and found we were circling the clearing, gaining in altitude. I hate flying. I had thought it was only limited to regular air travel but apparently dangling below a wereowl counted too. The circle widened as we approached fifteen, perhaps twenty feet, my Nikes brushing the tops of some trees. I was aware of several figures in the clearing below and knew as well as Rhys, Jean Claude was down there.  
“Nimir Ra,” The owl-man spoke in a soft voice, bringing my attention back to him. “Can you still be Nimir Ra if you are a wereowl?” I opened my mouth to answer but his talons begun to tighten on my shoulders.  
It was a split second decision, one I hoped I didn’t regret. Get feathery once a month or hope my human servant status would help me survive a twenty five-foot fall. Guess which way I voted?  
I pulled a knife from its wrist sheath and swung upwards, the silver blade cutting into his soft underbelly. He screamed and squawked at the same time and let me go.   
I had the sense to throw my knife in case I landed on it and braced myself for impact. I hit branches, first thin ones that broke as I struck them, and then came the sturdier ones. I bounced from branch to branch like the steel ball in a pinball machine. My left shoulder struck first, and then my right arm and lower back. My legs took a lot of damage although I felt nothing break apart from branches. I was winded as I landed hard over a branch on my stomach where I balanced momentarily before gravity rolled me backwards to fall the final six feet to the ground.  
I lay there for I don’t know how long, listening to my blood rushing through my ears. My entire body felt numb and I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing but even as I thought it pain started to emerge as though through a fog. It seemed to start at the outside and work its way in, fingertips and toes first, spreading in a line towards the centre of me. My arms throbbed as though I’d pumped too much iron, my legs the same. The pain in my ribs was sharp and urgent and I knew I’d at least cracked a few but I could breathe, meaning if I had broken any ribs, they hadn’t punctured a lung. I braced my arms against the ground and pushed slightly, lifting myself on my elbows. My head swam a little but it soon cleared enough for me to push myself to sitting. That was a mistake. The pain in my stomach was immediate, doubling me over and leaving me gasping for breath. The cramping didn’t pass and I curled into a ball on my side as wave after wave of pain sucked me in. I knew I was crying and could hear myself whimpering and that was how Jean Claude found me.  
I didn’t even feel him approach, didn’t even realise anyone was there until he crouched beside me.  
“Ma petite? Speak to me.” I felt his hand on my forehead and I opened my eyes to look at him, my vision blurred with tears.  
“Fuck.” I said. It was the only thing that came to mind.  
“Eloquent as always, ma petite.” He lay beside me, hand still on my forehead, and begun to talk softly in French. I felt the pain subside slightly; enough that I could stop crying like a baby and whimpering like a kicked puppy.  
“Get me to a hospital.” I said softly, looking up into his midnight blue eyes. He nodded once and lifted me in his arms, my body still curled in as tight a foetal position as possible.  
Dolph and Zebrowski crashed through the trees behind us with several uniforms as Rhys and Asher appeared almost soundlessly in front of us. All had guns drawn, excluding Asher. Jean Claude turned slightly towards Dolph so I could see him, his gun pointing at us. I knew Dolph had no love for Jean Claude, or any of the monsters, but I really didn’t want to do this now.  
“Put her down, nice and easy.” His voice was tight with the tension singing through his body. Zebrowski had his gun out but really didn’t look like he wanted to be pointing it at us, but the uniforms all had the same, blank cop face on. The one that said 'put the girl down or we’ll fire.' Of course unless Jean Claude put me down they couldn’t fire without hitting me but I don’t think they thought he’d disobey them.  
“She is hurt.” Jean Claude said simply. I just stared at Dolph, willing him to put the gun up on his own. Rhys came up beside us, his own gun again out of sight, and stood between us and the cops, facing me.  
“Anita, are you okay?”  
“No.” I shook my head. “I need a hospital.”   
He turned to Dolph and the assorted cops. “She’s hurt, we’ve got to get her out of here.” I could hear anger in his voice, and perhaps a little fear.  
“Fine. Jean Claude hand her over to Rhys, nice and slowly, then lace your fingers on top of your head.” I shook my head in disbelief. Dolph was going to try and blame Jean Claude any which way he could. Jean Claude started to hand me to Rhys.  
“Don’t you dare.” My voice sounded tight and hoarse. Jean Claude froze in mid motion and I looked up at Rhys. “He didn’t do this, Dolph.” I raised my voice and it sounded strange even to me.  
“Anita…” Dolph’s voice filled the quiet clearing.  
“Listen, I’m definitely badly bruised, there are at least two shapeshifters out there who have attacked me and Rhys in the last ten minutes. They’re the bad guys, let Jean Claude take me to the hospital, please.”  
Maybe it was the please, he lowered his gun and the others followed suit, Zebrowski sighed shaking his head.  
“May I ask your permission to take Anita to the ambulance I saw in the parking lot?” Jean Claude’s asked.  
Dolph nodded once and that was all the approval Jean Claude needed. Everything blurred as Jean Claude ran, no perhaps ran was the wrong word, glided, through the trees. It was that unnatural speed that vampires and shapeshifters had and for once I wasn’t watching it, but part of it. I’d have enjoyed it if I didn’t feel like I’d gone five rounds with a pro wrestler.  
We stopped so abruptly my head hurt and I felt the hot sting of vomit creeping up my throat. I pushed at Jean Claude and he gently lowered me to my knees and spoke soothingly to me as I lost the only decent meal I’d had in a week.  
I was in the ambulance, having lost some time somewhere. Jean Claude sat beside me holding my hand, a paramedic checking various vitals.  
“I keep blacking out.” I said and Jean Claude nodded. “But I didn’t hit my head.”  
“Rest, ma petite.” He ran a hand over my brow and I did as he asked. I closed my eyes and slept.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys and Jean Claude find out Anita's secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING - THE ANGST/LOSS IS ABOUT TO HIT!

My eyes finally reopened to an off-white ceiling and green walls. I knew a hospital room when I saw one but I didn’t think I’d been in a green one before.  
“She’s awake.” I brought my eyes down from ceiling level to find Rhys sitting beside the bed, Jean Claude standing just behind him.  
“How are you feeling, ma petite?”  
I concentrated for a moment and found I only felt bruised. “Not too bad.” I said although it took me three attempts my mouth was so dry. “Can I have some water?”  
Between them they sat up the bed, plumped my pillows and got me a glass of water, which I sipped carefully. I was surprised to find I wasn’t attached to any medical equipment including a drip.  
“What time is it?”  
Rhys checked his watch. “Quarter to four.”  
“I feel like I’ve slept longer.” I lay back in the pillows.  
“Jean Claude helped a lot with that.” I turned my attention to Jean Claude then and held a hand out to him. He took it and squeezed it gently.  
“Thanks.”  
“You are always welcome, ma petite. You know that.” He laid a chaste kiss on my knuckles.  
“What’s the diagnosis? When can I leave?” Rhys frowned at me, Jean Claude just laughed.  
“Ma petite, you are always in such a hurry.”  
“I don’t like hospitals.” I shrugged.  
“They want to keep you in for twenty four hours for observation, other than you not being hurt badly they haven’t told us anything.” Rhys explained. As if on cue a doctor entered. She was about fifty and reminded me of Lillian, all neat hair and beside manner.  
“Good to see you awake, Mrs Blake. I’m Dr Thompson.” We shook hands and she glanced between the three of us. “I’d like to discuss your health with you, are either of these gentlemen your partner?”  
“Yes.” They replied in unison. I shook my head at the doctor’s confused expression.  
“Whatever you have to say can be said in front of them both.” I regretted it the moment I said it but couldn’t take it back.  
“Perhaps you should sit down with Mrs Blake.” She said to Jean Claude and he did as he was told, sitting beside me on the bed, an arm around my shoulders. The doctor had that face on that said she didn’t want to tell me what she had to say and I felt a knot in my stomach that hadn’t been there a moment ago.  
“You suffered a lot of bruising from the fall, both internal and external but you seem to be recovering remarkably fast. You broke two ribs and again they seem to be healing already. You will feel sore and bruised for a couple of day’s maybe, maybe not. I’m afraid that’s the good new out of the way.” She paused and shook her head. I had a feeling I knew what was coming next. “I’m very sorry but we couldn’t save your baby.”  
I nodded once. That was what I’d thought she was going to say. She got up and left. I had a vague idea that she spoke to me and that I even answered but my attention was on my two men. Jean Claude had gone that perfect stillness that a vampire can and if it hadn’t been for his arm around me I’d have thought he wasn’t there. Rhys was still staring at where the doctor had stood but I could feel a line of tension humming from him. No one spoke and for once I had the strongest urge to fill the silence.  
“Well, one of you say something.”  
Jean Claude came back to life then and moved to face me. He said nothing, just looked; I looked back, my face blank, or as blank as I could get it.  
“Anita.” Rhys’ voice turned me to look at him in the chair beside the bed. He looked…awful. He seemed to have shrunk somehow, as though the news had drawn something out of him. “Is that what you were going to tell me?” His voice was little over a whisper.   
“Yes.” I nodded.  
“You knew you were pregnant, ma petite?”  
“Just.” I said. “I did a test earlier this evening.” He nodded slowly as though that explained everything.  
“Oh gods.” Rhys moved onto the bed beside me, taking me in a tight hug but my eyes were on Jean Claude.  
**“You realise we have always been very careful, ma petite?”** Jean Claude sent to me.  
**“I know. I can think of one time though…”**  
**“As can I.”**  
**“But that really doesn’t make any difference now, does it?”**  
I realised with a start that Rhys was crying softly against me. I turned my full attention to him, hands moving up and down his back in soothing motions. He moved away from me slowly. I realised Jean Claude had moved off the bed to stand near the wall, watching us with interest. He knew I’d never wanted children but Rhys, I knew that Rhys was sorry he’d missed his chance to be daddy to Merry's baby. He regretted that more than giving up the chance to be king. Now one of his dreams had been shattered before he even had a chance to realise it was a reality. He sat back enough to look at my face.  
“Oh, Anita.” Fresh tears flooded down his cheek and I wiped at them with my fingertips.  
“I’m sorry, Rhys.”  
“Why didn’t you say something?”  
“I was minutes from telling you. Remember? ‘I’ll tell you after the crime scene.’”  
“I wish you’d told me before.”  
“What good would that have done? The outcome would have been the same whether you knew or not.”  
He pulled me close to him again and I let him. He needed the comfort more than I did.  
“I must go, ma petite. It is near dawn.” Jean Claude took a step towards us.  
“Will you be staying at the Baymont?”  
“Oui.”  
“If you haven’t booked a room, use ours. I doubt Rhys and I will be there today.”  
“Merci, ma petite. But Jason has already offered his room for both Asher and myself.”  
I held out a hand to him and he took it, but kept us at arms length. A gentle tug on his arm brought him to us and I pulled him down to hold us in a three way hug. I wasn’t really saddened, I’d hardly gotten use to the idea, but I was going to need to be there for Rhys. Jean Claude, as though sensing my need planted a soft kiss on my cheek, and I felt the marks between us flare. Rhys didn’t stir, so I wasn’t sure if Jean Claude had blocked it from him or if the bond didn’t reach him.  
**“I know you will be strong for him, ma petite, but do not do so at the expense of yourself. Meredith and I are here when you need us.”**   
I didn’t answer, just simply nodded. I wondered if Merry had been here while I was out of it. Jean Claude stood and left us then, blowing me a simple kiss as he left the room.  
I held Rhys for another five minutes before he sat back and took my face in his hands. “Are you alright?” He asked finally.  
“I’m fine, Rhys.”  
“Why aren’t you angry?”  
I sighed. “Because right now we need each other, the anger will come later, when I take that bird and gut the bastard.” I felt the beginnings of rage deep within me but looking at Rhys, I pushed it back. I had a feeling he was going to find this the hardest to get over.  
He smiled slightly at my threat. “It’s good to know you’re still in there.” He tucked a stray curl behind my ear and it promptly fell back to where he’d taken it from.  
“How are you feeling, Rhys? You’ve had a hell of a shock.”  
He laughed slightly. “Trust you to be more worried about me than yourself. That’s one of the reasons I love you.” He pulled me to him in a tight hug again. He’d smiled, albeit a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. Maybe we’d be okay after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, later on you will get some fluff, but for now it's all angsty, tearful and angry!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anita breaks down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angsty angst and anger.

We’d slept, doing that two people, single bed trick. Him on his back arms fastened tightly around me, me on my side, head on his chest. If the doctors minded they didn’t say anything. Probably thought we needed each other, which was pretty much right. I woke first, feeling the warmth of Rhys against my cheek, then I realised he was clothed. I blinked a couple of times then realised we were still in the hospital. I gently slid out of Rhys’ arms and padded quietly to the adjoining bathroom. I was pleased to see not only was there a shower but towels too. I turned the water on while I…erm, you know. Used the other facilities.  
I stood under the water that I had turned up to just the wrong side of too hot but enjoyed the stinging sensation anyway. It meant I was still alive, could still feel. But then why did part of me feel empty? I felt physically fine; better than I had in a while. No nausea, no dizziness, and I was so hungry I couldn’t even describe it but I felt…lost. I was sure I hadn’t really wanted a baby so what was the problem? I decided it must be some basic maternal instinct built in so deep that whether you want to or not an unborn baby is a precious thing. I knew that anyway but wasn’t sure I’d ever thought about it being my unborn baby before. Whatever it was, they’d taken it away from me and that was not going to get them any brownie points. Trying to kill me had put them on my bad list, trying to turn me into a wereowl had put them pretty near the top of the list but killing my unborn child…oh God. That was it. I started to cry. They’d killed it, killed my baby, Rhys’ baby, okay maybe Jean Claude’s baby but most likely Rhys’, but more importantly, mine. No one harmed what was mine.  
I slid down the wall in a fit of tears and there I sat, huddled against the cold tile as the near scalding water hit my skin. Ten minutes later I heard the door to the bathroom open. The water stopped and I looked around to see Rhys staring down at me. He was holding two towels, one for my body and one for my hair. I took the smaller one first and wrapped my hair up. The crying had subsided now to just tears, none of the choking sobs I’d been doing until a few moments ago. I stepped out of the shower and into the circle of Rhys’ arms. We stood there for a few moments comforting each other then went back through to the bedroom. Someone had brought my overnight bag from the hotel and I started to get clothes out.  
“What are you doing?” Rhys came and stood beside me.  
“I need out of here. I need to find them. I need to…” I was going to say kill them but Dr Thompson came through the door. She was smiling gently at me, not happy but not neutral.  
“How are we feeling today Mrs Blake?”  
“That’s Ms.”  
“Oh.” She frowned at that. “I thought you two were…”  
“We live together. Rhys uses the name Blake because as a fey he doesn’t really have a proper surname. It makes life easier.”  
She nodded once. “How are you feeling?”  
“Fine.” I said. “I’d like to leave, as soon as possible.”  
She glanced at Rhys then back to me. “Physically there’s nothing that we should keep you in for, you’re healing beautifully, but I think you should seek some counselling.”  
“When we get home, doc. I have places I need to be right now.”  
“Anita…”  
“Don’t, Rhys. We’ll arrange something when we get back to St Louis but for now I just want to go home.”  
“I can’t stop you leaving, Ms Blake, only advise what I think.”  
“Thank you.” Seeing as I was leaving anyway it was kind of a moot point but I’d let it go. “When can I go?”  
“I’ll arrange your discharge now.” She glanced at Rhys and left us. I finished getting dressed.  
“Where do you have to be in such a hurry?”  
“I want to talk to Stephen, see if he can give me any ideas as to where I can look for these bastards. And Dolph. I need to know if it was badger hair they found at the latest scene. And see if anyone in the shapeshifting community knows of any mixed bag of lycanthropes in the area.”  
“You don’t have to do this alone. Let me help.”  
“Fine. You need to call your client anyway and tell her that her husband is a lycanthrope and that his friends threatened you and that you have to give the file to the cops.”  
“I don’t want to hand her husband over to the cops if I don’t have to, Anita, it’s against my work ethics.”  
“Fuck work ethics!” I spun on him. “Her husband might be able to tell us where we can find The Menagerie, might even be one of them. If he is he’s already dead.”  
“Anita…”  
“Don’t Anita me, Rhys. If I find them, I’ll kill them.”  
“I don’t doubt that, but don’t do anything rash. We’ll find them together.”  
He pulled me to him and I let him. I was starting to get that dark fuzzy feeling you get with anger, the kind that can consume you if you’re not careful. The feel of Rhys against me calmed me slightly but I knew for certain, wherever they were, The Menagerie was dead.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys makes a stupid suggestion which results in stress induced arguing.

I called the hotel from my cell phone in the car and asked to be put through to Jason’s room.  
“Anita? What’s going on? Jean Claude wouldn’t tell us what was wrong, just that you had to stay in overnight. I was worried.”  
His voice sounded high, meaning he was telling the truth, he was worried.  
“I’m alright. We’re on our way back to the hotel then I want to go back to St Louis as soon as possible.”  
“Jean Claude said you would. He said to make sure you went to the circus.”  
“Okay. Have you seen Merry this morning?”  
“Not yet.”  
“Could you let her know the plan?”  
“Sure.” He went quiet for a moment. “I was really worried, Anita. What was wrong?”  
“Not over the phone, Jason, okay.”  
“Promise you’ll tell me later?” Suddenly I was reminded of the conversation Rhys and I had had the night before and didn’t want to wait until later.  
“You remember you told me I smelt different?” I felt Rhys glance at me.  
“Last night or before that?”  
“Before that. I was different, a little. I was pregnant but I lost it in the attack.” The phone was silent for the longest time and I thought Jason had hung up. “Jason?”  
“Shit, Anita. I’m sorry.”  
“It’s okay, Jason. Just make sure Merry is ready to come home. You can stay with Jean Claude and Asher until dark then come home with them, if that’s okay?”  
“That’s fine. I think Jean Claude might have told Asher. He was talking to him a lot in French last night. I really didn’t understand much but you kept coming up.”  
“How was Jean Claude?”  
“He seemed upset. That’s why I was so worried. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jean Claude look so…forlorn.”  
“Forlorn? Shit. Let me know when you’re on your way back to the circus and I’ll make sure I’m there.”  
“He thought you’d go there and stay there. Be safe.”  
“Then he doesn’t know me as well as I thought.”  
We said our goodbyes and I called Dolph.  
“Anita. You okay?” I was getting sick of that question, one way or another.  
“Fine, Dolph. We need to get together. I might have a few theories we can throw around.”  
“You been holding out on me?”  
“No, Dolph. I just didn’t put two and two together until this morning.”  
He sighed then. “Fine. When can you come down?”  
“I’m still in Columbia. I’m just going to check out of the hotel and I’ll be on my way. I’ll come straight to you.”  
“Okay. And Anita?”  
“Yeah, Dolph?”  
“Be careful.”  
“As always.” I said but he’d already hung up. I leant back in the seat and closed my eyes, concentrating on my breathing.  
“You okay over there?”  
I opened one eye and looked at Rhys. “Peachy.” I said.  
He was quiet for a few moments then he sighed. “I was thinking. If you’re still interested, maybe we could try for real.”  
“What?” I wasn’t sure I knew what he was talking about. Maybe I did but I didn’t believe it.  
“Maybe we could try for another baby.”  
“No.”   
He glanced at me then a little longer than I liked seeing as he was driving. “No? Just as simple as that?”  
“Just as simple as that, Rhys. My life is no place to raise a baby. I couldn’t have been what? Seven weeks gone? And it was over. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean the monsters stop calling.”  
“We can be more careful. Bert can lend someone else to RPIT and you stay away from vampire politics…”  
“Did you not hear me, Rhys? No.”  
“You sound awfully certain.”  
“I am.”  
“That’s not fair, Anita.”  
“What’s not fair, Rhys? That I was pregnant and didn’t tell you straight away? That I lost our baby? That my life is too dangerous to think about bringing a child into it? Or the fact I just don’t want a baby?”  
“All of it.”  
“Dammit, Rhys! I am not changing my entire life just to soothe your daddy gene.”  
We pulled into the parking lot of the Baymont and he stopped the engine.  
“So that’s it? You say no and that’s the end of the discussion?” His voice was tight with anger. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him so mad.  
“That’s it, yeah. End of discussion. If you just wanted a baby factory you should have stayed with Merry.”  
“Maybe I should have.” And with that he got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. He didn’t wait for me; he just stalked angrily to the hotel. Well fine, I didn’t need him for this. I slid into the driver’s seat of my jeep and turned the key. My overnight bag was in the trunk already; I had no need to go into the hotel. I caught a glimpse of Rhys in the rear view then turned back to the road. My cell started to ring and I hit the call end button, sending the call straight to my voicemail box. I didn’t need to look at the display to know it would be Rhys. But right now, screw him. Screw the whole fucking lot of them.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anita makes a couple of stops.

I’d calmed down by the time I’d been on the highway for an hour. I’d turned on the radio to stop the silence being too loud and it calmed me. It was a station Nathaniel always listened to, he liked music in the car and I was getting used to it myself.  
I turned off the highway and headed towards RPIT headquarters. I’d turned my phone off after it rung for the fifteenth time and I’d even thrown my beeper onto the passenger seat. I was so mad with Rhys right now I didn’t even want to think about it. Dolph was just coming out of the office when I got there. He turned to go back in holding the door for me. I’d have complained normally but I knew if Dolph started on me he’d get the full force of my anger at Rhys with both barrels, which wouldn’t be fair.  
“I’ve been trying to beep you.”  
“Sorry.” I shrugged. “I was driving and thought it would be best just to get here as soon as I could.” I lied.  
“The tests came back on the body.”  
“Already?”  
“Yeah. As soon as we told them what to look for they were pretty fast. It was werebadger. How the hell did you know that?”  
“If we can go somewhere a little more private than the communal office I’ll tell you.”  
He led me to his office and got me settled with a cup of coffee, my first one in over a week. It was like having an old friend back. I savoured every mouthful.   
“So what’s going on?”  
“I don’t want most of what I’m going to tell you on the record, Dolph, I want you to know this is confidential.”  
“If this will help a police investigation, Anita, nothing is off the record.” He was frowning at me.  
“Alright, I understand. I’ll tell you what you need to know.”  
“But not all of it?”  
“No, not all of it. It’s irrelevant. I was going to give you some background so you’d know how I know this, but if we ignore that fact, you’ll just have to take me on my word that I know what’ s going on.”  
“I don’t like it but alright.”  
“One of my…friends, who’s a wereleopard was attacked and sent to me injured as a message that a group known as The Menagerie were looking for me.”  
“The Menagerie?”  
“Yeah. I’ve never heard of them but my friend recognised them as lycanthropes but he couldn’t tell what kind.”  
“So this Menagerie wanted to meet you and sent one of your friends beaten up to what?”  
“Show that they meant business, I guess. An hour or so later I was shot in my backyard. Someone was hidden in the trees. They used silver shot so it’s possible they think I’m a lycanthrope.”  
“Right.” Dolph was taking notes.  
“Then we have the first attack in Columbia. Obviously lycanthrope. Now we know its bear. A few days later we get another body, this time with werebadger fur. Five minutes before I come to the crime scene I get a call from Jean Claude to say that one of my friends who’s a werewolf has been attacked by the same group, more savagely, leaving the message that next time I won’t be so lucky.”  
“Okay.” He was staring at me now. “I’m sure you’re building to something here, Anita. Any chance you could get to the point?”  
“I’m there now, Dolph. One of the lycanthropes that attacked him changed in front of him. He was a badger.”  
Dolph sucked air in through his teeth. “So we have a link. Whoever is trying to kill you is killing people out in Columbia.”  
“Looks like it. But I’m not done.”  
“There’s more?”  
“Oh yeah.” He sat, pen poised. “You already know this part anyway. It’s about the man Rhys has been investigating and the lycanthrope that warned him off last night. And last night when we were attacked it was by several lycanthropes. First Rhys was attacked by a lycanthrope that looked cougar-ish. It could have been puma but I wasn’t sure. It definitely wasn’t leopard or wolf. It wasn’t in full animal form, which is why I couldn’t tell. The other one that attacked was an owl.”  
“An owl?”  
“Yeah, an owl.”  
“That’s a new one, even on me, Anita.”  
“New to me too, Dolph. That’s the one that attacked me. He picked me up and dropped me from about thirty feet.”  
“You were lucky not to be killed.”  
“The trees broke my fall.” I shrugged.  
He stared at me, giving me his cold, cop eyes but I stared right back, blank faced.  
“When can I expect Rhys’ file on the guy he’s been investigating?”  
“No idea. I’ll give you his cell phone number so you can call him if you like.”  
“You two had a disagreement?”  
“Something like that. I just don’t want to talk to him right now.”  
“Fine, give me the number. I’ll call him.”  
“He was going to talk to his client first, hopefully he’ll have done that by now.”  
“Good. Anything else you can think of?”  
“Not right now.” I shook my head.  
“Let me know if you find anything else out.”  
“Sure.” I gave him Rhys’ number and waited as he dialled. I heard part of the conversation but tried to ignore it. Dolph looked at me as he spoke. I think Rhys had asked if I’d been there, Dolph said yes then looked away again. I waved a hand to let Dolph know I was leaving. I got to the door when I heard Dolph say “Ciaran Chambers then?” I froze. Ciaran, the lycanthrope Edward was hunting, Ciaran, the lycanthrope Rhys was investigating. Shit. Dolph hung up and I walked back to the desk.  
“What was that name again?”  
“Ciaran Chambers. Rhys asked me to get you to call him.”  
“Thanks, Dolph.”  
I walked out of the office as calmly as I could but I ran down the stairs to my car. I turned my phone back on and called Edward’s answering service.  
“Edward, it’s Anita. I have a lead for you. It’s urgent. Call me on my cell.” I left the number and hung up. I had no idea how soon he’d get back to me so I thought I’d go to my next port of call. The lycanthrope hospital.

Stephen was heavily bandaged and bruised. Dr Lillian had made him as comfortable as possible but the cuts weren’t healing fast as they’d used silver blades.  
“Has Richard been to see you?” I asked stroking the back of his hand.  
“Not yet. Lillian spoke to him and he said he’d come soon.” His voice was hoarse as though he needed to clear it. Bruising blossomed around his Adams apple and I knew they’d crushed his throat.  
“I know it’s hard for you to talk, Stephen, but what happened?”  
They’d jumped him as he went to Guilty Pleasures to work. They’d taken him to a warehouse, chained him in silver and tortured him. There were four of them, all lycanthropes. The badger was the only one who changed form. The others changed their hands into claws and I knew that we were dealing with alpha whatever they were from that. There was one who seemed to be the leader who they kept calling Lochy. I hoped it was an abbreviation of a name and not short for were-loch-ness-monster.  
That was all Stephen knew. He’d lost consciousness after they’d given him the message and he’d woken here in the hospital.  
“Did you get any other names?”  
“No. I’m sorry, Anita, I’m not much help.”  
“It’s okay, Stephen. You’ve been more help than you realise.”  
I went back to Lillian and took her to one side. “I need to get hold of Rafael, and urgently.”  
“I’ll see what I can do for you, Anita.” I left her my cell number and went back to my jeep. I turned my cell on, again (you can’t have them on near medical equipment, or so I was told) and I’d missed four calls, all from Rhys. I ignored them and called Richard.  
“Anita.” His voice was cool and I realised just how pissed he might have been at me right now. He’d offered me his heart on a platter and I’d poked it around and handed it back to him.  
“Richard, we have a problem, can we meet?”  
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  
“It involves the Lukoi.”  
“If you’re talking about Stephen I already know he was hurt. I’m going to see him shortly.”  
“Well I’m here now. I don’t know if he told you but he was a message to me.”  
“He mentioned it.”  
“Dammit, Richard, the pack are in danger unless we work together!”  
“Let me worry about the pack, Anita. They’re really not any of your business anymore.”  
“Richard, you get this bee out of your ass and listen for a second. The Lukoi are in danger because this group is after me. I don’t want anyone hurt in my place. They are a group of rogue lycanthropes who are murdering humans and cutting up lycanthropes. Just tell everyone to keep a low profile and if anyone hears of any werebears, wereowls or werebadgers to let me know. That’s all I need you to do.”  
I heard him sigh and his anger level came down a couple of notches. “Fine, Anita. I’ll let people know.” He paused for a moment then continued. “I’m sorry I snapped.”  
“You’re entitled to be pissed at me, Richard, but don’t do it at the expense of the packs safety.”  
“I won’t. Take care of yourself.”  
“I will.” And I hung up. The phone rung immediately and as it wasn’t Rhys’ cell I answered it.  
“Anita.”  
“Edward. I think I’ve found your lycanthrope.”  
“Really? Where are you?” He sounded pleased.  
“I’m on my way to the circus.”  
“I’ll meet you there.” And he hung up. Again the phone rang instantaneously and I answered it up without thinking.  
“Anita, where the fuck are you?”   
“Not now, Rhys.”  
“Don’t you dare hang up!” He sounded furious.  
“Fine, talk but talk fast, I’m expecting a call.”  
“Dammit, Anita, don’t shut me out.”  
“Then don’t shout at me. It’s not my fault.”  
“What’s not your fault?”  
“Any of it. I really am waiting for a call, Rhys.”  
“Where are you?”  
“Lycanthrope hospital, you?”  
“We’re all at RPIT. Are you going to the circus?”  
“I’m going there next, once I’ve had my call.”  
“Go now, please, for me.”  
“Rhys, if I go now I’ll lose the signal on my cell once I get underground.”  
“So put on your call divert, send all calls to Jean Claude’s private line.”  
“Yeah, alright. I’m going.”  
“What did you tell Dolph?”  
“Everything about the attacks apart from your guy because I didn’t know anything.”  
“I meant about your…health.”  
“That I’m okay.”  
“Are you?” His voice was quiet.  
“As well as I can be, Rhys.” I hung up. My anger with him was subsiding and I felt the need just to be held. That wouldn’t do me any good if I got attacked now. If the bad guys took me I might just sit and cry instead of fighting back. Dammit I had to get mad again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I think the hugest, biggest part of the angst is done for now (gets a bit weepy again near the end, sorry!) but Anita is being focused and proactive again, plus, you know, Edward, so that's a good thing!
> 
> I was worried I wouldn't get these chapters posted this morning (as I'm in the UK, I've been trying to post by 830am most mornings) because I'm off to see Captain America: Civil War this morning! Again! Taking my mum as she hasn't seen it yet and any excuse to watch it for a fourth time! Been having some (more than normal) serious Bucky feels and debating doing a Bucky/reader fic which is running around in both my waking and sleeping head at the moment. Luckily I have Anita coming out of my ears so there will be no break in service! Of course this is stopping me carrying on with my plan of getting my own novels published in the next few months but when the feels are there, use 'em!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward and Anita foil a kidnapping. Rhys feels guilty.

Uptown traffic on a Saturday afternoon soon solved my lack of anger. I almost had steam coming out of my ears by the time I got to the circus. Edward was sitting in a beat up Nova in the staff parking lot waiting for me. I parked beside him and he got out of his car and into my jeep.  
“Ciaran Chambers is a guy that Rhys has been following on the orders of his wife. She thinks he’s been having an affair, in truth he’s probably a lycanthrope, maybe even the one you’re after. I think he might be part of a bigger group calling themselves The Menagerie. They’ve made attacks on a couple of my people and at least one on myself. We could have a common cause here, Edward.”  
He nodded. “So what’s your plan?”  
“I have no idea. Everything’s fucked up, we’re all separated and all everyone seems certain about is that I should be hiding. I just want to find the bastards and kill their asses.”  
“Sounds personal.”  
I raised an eyebrow at him. His eyes were shining, his smile slightly lopsided. He was doing his 'Ted Forrester' for me. Or being Ted Forrester. Whichever. “They’ve attacked me at least once and you say it sounds personal? Ever the master of understatement, Edward.”  
“I say we formulate a plan and kick their asses ourselves.”  
I smiled at him then. “That’s the best offer I’ve had all day.” My cell rang again and I answered it. It was Rafael. I told him what I’d told Richard, to get his people to be vigilant and find out if anyone knew of any odd lycanthropes in the area. He thanked me for the heads up. I told him just to make sure no one got hurt.  
“We’ll plot inside. At least it’s secure.”  
“You sure you want me inside the lair of the Master of the City?”  
“He’s not here anyway. But quite frankly fuck him, fuck them all.” I got out of the car and Edward followed me to the side door.  
“Sounds like trouble in preternatural paradise.”  
“I’m not biting, Edward, so drop it.”  
“Fine. What do we do about our other little problem?”  
“First we find out where this Ciaran Chambers lives. I think Dolph might be investigating him too so maybe we could wait until tonight, so long as he’s not in for questioning.”  
“Wait, you handed him over to the cops before me?”  
“Rhys told Dolph his name before he told me, Edward, otherwise you’d have been first.” I knocked on the door. We stood looking at each other for a few minutes but still no answer. I called Jean Claude’s unlisted number and waited. No answer.  
“Something’s wrong.”  
“What? It’s gone one pm. All the vamps should be tucked up in their coffins.”  
“But there’s almost always someone here, Ernie at least should be here. He’s human.”  
“Is there another way in?”  
“Front door.”  
We walked around the building carefully, both drawing our weapons as we walked.  
“What kind of lock is on the door?” Edward asked.  
“I have no idea. It’s always open when I come over or I use the staff entrance.”   
“What about skylights, windows?”  
“In a vampire run establishment?”  
“Guess not.” He shrugged.  
We edged to the corner of the building, Edward letting me go first as I knew if any cars were here, who they might belong to. I crouched flat against the wall, gun pointed up. I looked around the corner and saw an unmarked blue van. A man sat in the drivers’ seat with both hands on the wheel as though waiting to drive away. The rear door was open but I couldn’t see anybody back there. The front entrance to the circus stood open.  
“There’s a guy in a van, back door is open as if loading. Front door to the circus is open too.”  
“Anything written on the van?”  
“Nothing.”  
The crunch of gravel near the van caused us both to go still. I risked another peek around the corner. Four men came into view, carrying two coffins between them. None of them were straining from the effort and I realised they were lycanthropes, almost so well 'disguised' that I hadn’t recognised them.  
I held up four fingers to Edward and looked at him.  
“They’re holding coffins. Looks like they’re stealing my dead. They can’t go for guns.”  
“Let’s take them.”  
I nodded once and stood back up. Clicking the safety off my gun Edward and I stepped round the corner as one.  
“Hold it!” I yelled and five sets of eyes fell on me. The men were all pretty nondescript, nothing really held them apart, one was blond, a couple dirty brown, one red head and one with hair as black curly as my own. Other than that they were average, you wouldn’t look twice at them in the street, unless the street was particularly empty. They froze and stared at us, including the driver.  
“Lower the coffins, slowly, then lace your hands on your heads.” Edward and I started to walk towards them in perfect unison with each other. We’d done this before. As soon as the coffins hit the floor the men, almost as one leapt for the back of the van. I wasn’t sure if it was Edward or myself who let off the first shot but we fired on them. One man was hit in the arm, another in the side but they made it to the van, the engine was gunned as soon as they moved and it peeled away, back doors still open. Only their lycanthropic speed got them past more bullets. As they ripped up the gravel something started to emerge from the back of the van and I realised it was another coffin. They were pushing it out of the van and at the speed they were going whoever was inside would be spilled out into the sunlight and crispy crittered.  
I screamed “No!” and started to run towards it but Edward grabbed my arm. There was nothing I could do about it. Everything seemed to slow down as the back of the van swung into view; the coffin slowly being pushed out and someone aiming a gun at us. Edward was marginally faster than I was because I was too busy staring at the coffin, waiting to see which of my friends would die. He pushed me to the ground covering me with his body. Four short bursts of fire went over our heads and I heard the scraping of the coffin dragging through the gravel. A squeal of tires indicated the van had reached the road and was out of sight. Edward all but lifted me to my feet as he stood and I ran towards the coffin, lying on its side, the half-lid swung open. I couldn’t hear any screams but if you were dead to the world and got hit by sunlight would you even realise?  
As I got closer I was surprised I couldn’t smell burning and finally rounded the coffin to find it empty. I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding. It must have belonged to either Jean Claude or Asher who were both safely tucked up at the Belmont Inn.  
“Anita.” Edward’s voice brought me back to him. He was standing by the other two coffins. “What do we do about these?”  
I walked back towards him and heard footsteps coming fast from the rear car park. I dropped to one knee holding the Browning in a teacup grip as Edward crouched behind one of the coffins for partial cover, his own gun level with the corner we’d just ourselves rounded.  
Rhys came around the corner first, gun drawn. “Hold fire! It’s Rhys.” I yelled at Edward and stood. Frost came next then Merry and Galen. Rhys glanced around then headed straight for me as I put up the Browning. He didn’t even break stride as he hugged me, his body slamming into mine and carrying me back several paces, at least it would have been several paces had my feet still been on the ground.  
“Oh god, Anita, never ever do anything like this to me again.” His voice was muffled in my shoulder.  
I wanted to say; 'Like what?' but thought better of it and sunk into the comfort of his arms.   
“Back to our original problem…” Edward’s voice cut over us and I gently moved out of Rhys’ embrace, sliding down the length of him to put my feet on the floor.  
“I have work to do.” I smiled at him.  
“Okay.” He bent his head and kissed me softly.  
“You two can get a room after we’ve sorted out the coffins sitting in the driveway.” I laughed then and went back to Edward.  
As I approached I felt Damian wake and knew he was in the nearest coffin. Damian is one of the oldest vamps I know but not a master. We have a special bond. I accidentally raised him from his coffin once and saved his life with my blood. He was now as much mine as Jean Claude’s, maybe more.  
I gasped and ran, then threw myself on top of the lid.  
“Damian, it’s Anita, don’t open it!”  
“Anita? What’s going on?” His voice was muffled by the coffin but it was unmistakably Damian.  
“Just don’t move, okay? You’re outside.”  
“How did I get outside?”  
“Long story, just stay put and we’ll try get you inside.” I smiled at Frost and Galen who were standing just behind Merry. “Time you boys showed us just how strong you are.”  
Frost, Galen and Rhys took the coffins in, taking the empty one first so they could get used to the awkward shape. The last coffin held Hannah, one of the newer vamps and girlfriend of my good vamp friend Willie McCoy. Edward and Merry went downstairs to Jean Claude’s rooms while I waited upstairs with the final coffin. I was sitting on it as much from fear Hannah may try and rise as for comfort. My beeper went off as I was sitting there and it made me jump. It was Dolph and I called him straight back from my cell but it was Zebrowski that answered.  
“Anita. Ciaran Chambers is gone.”  
“Gone? What do you mean, gone?”  
“Skipped out, disappeared, take your pick, he’s gone.”  
“How?”  
“We’re not sure. We sent the local cops over and when there was no answer one of them went round the back and found the back door open. Mrs Chambers was lying on the kitchen table with her throat ripped out.”  
“Shit.”  
“Yeah. There were some photos on the table of the guy walking into the forest, I guess like the ones Rhys gave Dolph copies of. Looks like she told him and he flipped.”  
“Double shit.”  
“Yep. You want to come with us to see the body?”  
“We’re pretty sure it’s a crime of passion, but if it’s still a lycanthrope, that falls under my speciality, right?”  
“That’s right.”  
“You want me to meet you there?”  
“Yes, bring Rhys, he’ll know the address.”  
“I’ll leave as soon as I can. I’m just sitting for someone at the moment.”  
“Babysitting?”  
“Nope, coffin sitting. I just foiled a kidnapping.” I told him about the men at the circus and that they were lycanthropes.  
“They’re really trying to piss you off, aren’t they?”  
“They’re succeeding.” I sighed. “I’ll be back in Columbia as soon as I can.” I hung up and turned as Galen and Rhys came back out of the door.  
“Last one.” Galen smiled.  
“Hey, it’s a free workout, right?” I shrugged. “Rhys, I just spoke to Zebrowski. We need to get back over to Columbia. Mrs Chambers has been murdered.”  
“Shit.” His face slid to one of barely kept rage.  
“That’s what I said.”  
“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t told her…”  
“If you hadn’t told her someone else would have. She’d be just as dead.” I rested a hand on his arm. “Let’s get Hannah in then go back to Columbia.”


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anita and Rhys get honest with one another.

The silence in my jeep was deafening. I’d put the radio on and Rhys had turned it right down so was barely audible.  
“We’ll have to stop and get some food.” I said eventually.  
“You hungry?”  
“I haven’t eaten since last night.”  
“I forgot.” He nodded. He seemed distant now, almost like he wasn’t with me and I had a feeling I knew what he was dwelling on.  
“Rhys, I’m really sorry all this has happened but right now we have some major shit about to hit the fan and I need you here with me.”  
He turned in his seatbelt and looked at me. “I’m here, you know that.”  
“Not just physically, Rhys, your mind’s on other things.”  
“Can you blame me?”  
“No, but try and keep a clear head. I’d hate to have to pick silver shot out of you and wait for you to heal just because you weren’t with it.”  
“I’m sorry, Anita. It’s hard but I’m with you.”  
“Good.” I held out a hand to him and he took it, giving it a gentle squeeze.  
“We need to talk though, Anita, we really do. I didn’t realise how much I wanted to be a father until I had it taken away from me.” I wasn’t sure if he meant his chance with Merry or what had happened last night but I didn’t question it. See, smarter than I look. “I need to know if our future involves children.”  
I sighed. I knew this conversation would come up again I just hadn’t wanted to deal with it just yet. “I don’t want children right now, Rhys. You knew this when you came to St Louis. I’ve done nothing wrong apart from not be careful enough yet I feel like this is all my fault, like I’ve been leading you on, but I haven’t. I’ve been nothing but straight with you.”  
“I know that, Anita. I just didn’t think I’d change my mind quite as quickly as I have. I guess I wanted kids but didn’t realise how badly. Now we’ve had our first chance snatched from us.”  
“That’s exactly why I don’t want kids. My life is a free fire zone, if our kids lived through any pregnancy with all the fighting and running I always seem to be doing there’d be someone who wanted to kill or kidnap them to hurt me. I don’t think I could take that sort of pain.”  
“Neither could I, but…”  
“No buts, Rhys, that’s the way it is and I don’t want to be one of these people who have bodyguards for their kids. It’s no way to live, if you have the choice.” We sat in silence again for several miles then I spoke. “I meant what I said. If you’re not happy and you’d rather go back to Merry…”  
“Pull over.”  
“What?”  
“Pull over.” I did as he asked, pulling off the next ramp and stopping the car in a small parking bay by the road. He unbuckled our seatbelts and, turning me towards him with hands on my upper arms, he kissed me.  
His lips were soft against mine but the kiss itself was urgent, as though I was the last sane thing in his world. He kissed me harder than he usually did, pressing my lips hard enough to make me gasp. As his tongue began to explore my mouth I sighed against him, giving myself over to the kiss completely. I got to my knees on the seat and ran my hands into the velvet softness of his hair, his hands moving around me to my waist and buttocks. The touch of his hand so low down made me jerk and I crawled over the gearshift to straddle him in his seat. God, I’d missed him and his touch this last week. He finally broke off the kiss and we stared at each other from very close range.  
“You really think I’d be happy going back to Merry?” I opened my mouth to answer but he shushed and kissed me back to silence. “I came to St Louis to be with you, because I couldn’t bear to be without you. That hasn’t changed. I’d rather have you and no kids than go back to Merry and be without you.” I smiled softly at him. I didn’t know what to say. “Maybe our future holds kids, maybe it doesn’t. I’m willing to wait and see.”  
“Thanks, Rhys.” He kissed me again quickly and I slid back into my seat.  
“Let’s go get this over with.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brief crime scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, you know what that means! An extra chapter today! Yay!

Margaret Chambers’ kitchen had been a perfect, spotless country home affair. A large range stove, lemon painted cabinets, blue and lemon curtains and a lot of natural pine. Now everything was spattered with blood.   
She had been a small, mousy woman in life, nondescript hair, small mouth, slightly crooked nose and grey eyes. She lay on her kitchen table, her dull eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. Her throat was now just meat, pulverised and torn, her spinal cord showing white in the red depths.  
Dolph, Zebrowski and I stood around the table looking down at her. The local cops stood watching us, waiting for the spook squad and their pet expert to come up with something fantastic.  
“Definitely lycanthrope.” I said.  
“Yep.” Said Zebrowski.  
“Looks that way.” Said Dolph.  
“Crime of passion.” I said  
“Yep.” Said Zebrowski.  
“Looks that way.” Said Dolph. He turned to the local sheriff who was shaking his head.  
“You can tell all that just from looking?”  
“There are other clues, sheriff.”  
“Like what?”  
“Like we happen to know that Mr Chambers was a lycanthrope. His wife was having a private investigator following him because she thought he was having an affair. From the look of the pictures on the table she confronted him and he killed her. Find the husband, sheriff, you find the perp.”  
“Why the hell wasn’t I told there was a lycanthrope in my town?”  
I turned to him. “Lycanthropy is a disease sheriff, you don’t need to be registered.”  
“Well you should be.”  
Zebrowski must have seen me stiffen as he rested a hand on my arm. “Thanks for the help, Blake. We can take it from here.” He walked me out the back door to where Rhys was waiting for me. “Any idea what kind of lycanthrope we’re looking for?”  
“I don’t have a clue.” I shook my head. “If he’s part of this gang he could be anything. Try the badger and bear first. I don’t think a wereowl could tear a throat out like that without leaving some feathers behind.”  
“At least you didn’t throw up this time.” He slung an arm over my shoulder.  
“I’m not sick anymore, Zebrowski.” I shrugged.  
“But you’re still not fully recovered.” I turned to look at him. “Come on, Blake. You might not still be physically sick but you’re still suffering for it. I can see it in your face.” Rhys came up beside us. “Take her home and make her rest.”  
Rhys nodded. “That’s my intention.”  
“We’ll call if we need you, Anita.”   
I let Rhys take me to the car. We were on the road again before we spoke.  
“Do I really look that bad?”  
“You look tired.” He shrugged. “There’s something in your eyes, I know what it is, but if you didn’t know what the problem was, like Zebrowski doesn’t, it just looks like you’re recovering from something nasty.”  
I sighed. “Let’s get something to eat.”  
We stopped at a Macdonald’s drive-through and ate our Big Macs in the parking lot. We made jokes and chatted, as though nothing had happened. It was nice to have a sense of normality back with Rhys; I’d been beginning to think it would never return.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some unexpected visitors cause all kinds of problems.
> 
> Brief F/F kiss

We were about twenty minutes from the circus when my phone started to ring. Rhys answered it, and I only got half of the conversation.  
“Oh hi, Merry…what? Yeah about twenty minutes…what’s going on?…okay we’ll be there as soon as we can.” He turned a puzzled look on me. “Something’s going on at the circus. They’re not in danger, but we still need to get there ASAP.”  
“Best I step on it.” And I punched the gas.  
We got there in just under fifteen minutes. Luckily we didn’t get stopped for speeding.  
I banged on the rear door and Jason opened it, his eyes wide. “Shit, Anita, I’m glad you’re here.”  
“What’s going on?”  
He started to walk down the stairs with the two of us in tow. “We had an unexpected visitor and I think the shits gonna hit the fan any minute.” He was almost running down the steps, Rhys and I kept up. Whatever it was seriously had Jason spooked.  
“Who is it?”  
He didn’t answer. We’d reached the bottom of the stairs and the door stood open. Jason went through the door first and off to one side, giving us a clear view of the room.  
Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, sat on one of the plush white sofas, Cel beside her. A plethora of Ravens stood at her back, including Kendrick. Merry sat in one of the chairs opposite the sofa, Galen and Frost at her back, Jean Claude sat in the other chair, Asher and Damian behind him, Jason moving to sit at his feet. Andais smiled as we entered and stood.  
“Here’s our blushing bride now.”  
“Excuse me?” I felt my jaw hit the floor.  
She sashayed towards me in a black dress so tight it made the skin on a hot dog look baggy. “Your impending arrival, Ms Blake. By fey law a breeding couple must marry.”  
“Jeez, news travels fast.” I said glancing round the room. “I’m not marrying anyone.”  
“It’s the law, Ms Blake.” She stopped in front of me, her storm grey eyes on me.  
“Not my law.”  
“You will marry the father of your child, Ms Blake, even more so if the father is to be the next king.” She held out her hand and Cel came to stand beside her.  
“Excuse me?” My eyes were wide. “He’s not…I’ve never…” I was pointing at Cel.  
“Come now, Anita, everyone at the ball remarked how well you and Cel seemed to be getting along. It’s understandable that you would not resist him for long, especially as you live so close.”  
“Resist him?” I could feel anger starting to bubble deep inside me. Merry came to stand beside me, a hand carefully on my arm, everyone else carefully kept their distance. “I haven’t touched him, wouldn’t want to!” She raised an eyebrow that said she thought I was lying for the sake of modesty. “Just wait one minute here, your majesty, has Cel been saying that I did the dirty with him?”  
“If by the dirty you mean sex, Anita, then yes.”  
“You bastard!” I stepped towards him suddenly, not sure what I was going to do apart from hurt him, Merry staying close behind me. He took a step back for every one I took towards him. “You fucking liar!” The backs of his knees hit the coffee table and he fell backwards, raising his left hand.  
Merry and I gasped as his power rolled over us. I felt the hot rush of blood as the claw marks on my left forearm opened wide. I turned to Merry and found her clutching her side, blood pouring from her. He’d opened two of our old wounds and it hurt like hell.  
“Cel!” Andais stalked up beside us and Cel flinched as though he’d been struck. “Do not try my patience, son. To lay another hand on either of these two will bring my full wrath down upon you.” He nodded once carefully.  
Merry staggered and I caught her, Frost, Galen and Rhys looked as though they wanted to come to us but I shook my head gently. I carefully lifted the blood soaked cloth and found a perfect handprint of flesh missing from Merry’s side.  
“Shit.” I thought quickly. “I might be able to heal you.”  
Merry’s eyes were wide. “How?”  
“The munin.” I looked back at Jean Claude and he merely nodded. I glanced at Jason and beckoned him over.  
“What do you need?”  
“To call the munin.”  
“The munin? Raina’s munin?”  
“That’s the one, who else's munin did you think I meant?”  
He shrugged. “Sorry.”  
“That’s fine, Jason, but you know what I need to call it.” He nodded and took off his shirt, revealing his perfect, smooth chest and stomach. I moved Merry so she sat in the crook of my arm. “I’m really hoping this works. I’ve never tried it on a girl before.”  
She smiled slightly. “I’m willing to let you try. What do you need me to do?”  
“Well first don’t die, but second I’m just going to kiss you. If I go all weird on you, it’s because it’s not me.” She nodded as though she understood although I wasn’t sure she did. I pulled my own shirt over my head so I sat in just my bra and jeans.  
“Okay, Jason.” I couldn’t quite believe I was letting him do this, but I needed a connection to the Lukoi and Jason was the only one here. His hands were warm as they slid around my waist and he laid his bare chest against my back. I shuddered at his touch and, brushing my hair over my shoulder, he started to kiss along the back of my neck.  
I felt Raina rising inside me and heard her chuckle come out of my mouth. “So you finally brought me a woman.” Jason continued to kiss up my neck to my ear. “And Jason too. I always liked Jason.” I felt him freeze against me as Raina’s voice spilled out of my mouth. “Oh we are going to enjoy this.”  
“Just get on with it.” I whispered. I felt Raina’s smile curling my lips as I bent over Merry. Our lips brushed gently at first then the munin spilled over me, forcing me to kiss harder. Raina had always preferred men but wasn’t repulsed by the idea of women either. Jason’s teeth nibbled gently against my neck, one of my favourite spots, and I felt Merry sigh as she sat up. When her tongue brushed my lips I was surprised but Raina wasn’t, she was delighted. Through me she kissed Merry back, all probing tongues and heat. I had a vague notion of how uncomfortable I was right now, being forced to kiss my friend and that was payment enough for Raina. I felt her laugh inside me and she was gone.  
I pulled away from Merry quickly, falling backwards and taking Jason with me. I lay there panting on top of Jason, his arms still locked around my waist. The movement had put me at Andais’ feet looking up, Cel now beside her.  
“My, my, Anita. You do have some hidden talents.” She was smiling and I thought I saw lust in her eyes. “And you, my niece, it would appear you have finally put on a show worthy of me.”  
Jason sat up keeping me pressed against him. I sat on the floor with his legs either side of me, his arms still on my bare flesh. I glanced around the room and found all the men with their mouths open. Apparently we’d given them quite a show. I turned my eyes to Merry and found her side whole and healed, but scarred. A quick glance at my arm showed I was healed too.  
“Sorry about that.” I said to Merry.   
She laughed. “Don’t apologise for that! It was incredible.” I felt myself starting to blush and turned to find Jason leaning around to look at me. His eyes had the expression in them that men get when they’ve either just had really good sex or a really good meal.  
“Was it good for you too?” He grinned.  
I sighed and pushed myself to my feet and pulled my shirt back on.  
“You have chosen well there, my son.”  
I turned my eyes back on Andais. “Just a second. Back to the subject at hand, I have never slept with Cel, therefore no wedding.”  
“Are you denying you have slept with my son?” She frowned at me.  
“He’s a perverted son of a bitch.”  
“But are you denying you had sex with him?”  
“I’m not denying it, I’m stating it. Read my lips. I would not touch your son with a ten foot cattle prod.”  
Her eyes tightened slightly then she regained her composure. “We will speak when we return home, Cel. But as for you Ms Blake, I think you will find there will be a wedding anyway.”  
“I don’t understand.”  
“A mating pair between the fey is something to be cherished and if not Cel's there is only one other conclusion. You and Rhys should be married as soon as possible.”  
I laughed then. “You are kidding, right?”  
“I never kid.”  
“Oh yeah. I forgot.” I shook my head. “Sorry, your majesty, but I’m not marrying anyone.”  
“If Rhys and yourself have sired a child it is fey law that the couple must wed,” She approached me suddenly that I had to force myself not to take a step back. She towered over me but I was used to that. What I wasn’t used to was her magic beating against mine like a battering ram. “You may not be subject to fey laws but Rhys is and for him to break a law means he must be punished.” She spat into my face, bent over me slightly so our faces were close.  
“And if it’s not Rhys’?” I asked. She took a step back suddenly as though she’d been struck.  
“Who else could it be?” Her voice was quieter. I turned to look at Jean Claude, as did everyone else in the room. He didn’t flinch he just stood there looking beautiful. “Is that even possible?” She asked.  
“Oh yeah.” I said.  
“Once the child is born we will know who the father is and if it is Rhys’ you will have to marry him or he will be punished.”  
“That’s not an issue.” I said. “There is no child, not anymore.”  
Her face contorted in anger and she bent towards me again. “I do hope you have not done anything rash, Anita. Children are sacred to the fey, the death of…”  
I never let her finish. “I’ve done nothing. I lost the child after an attempt on my life last night.”  
Her face seemed to soften then. I was surprised when her hand came to rest upon my shoulder. “I am truly sorry for your loss, Anita.”  
“Thank you, your majesty.”  
“But the fact remains that you and Rhys are most likely a mating pair. A marriage between the fey is not permitted without children. By rights the two of you could be wed in the eyes of Sidhe law.”   
I glanced at Rhys then at Jean Claude. “As I said, your majesty, the child may not have been Rhys’.”  
“But…”  
“But chances are it was.” I sighed. Rhys came up behind me and took my hand.  
She shook her head. “I do not understand your reluctance to marry, Anita. Rhys is a fine man to be paired with. If I were you I would consider my options carefully.”  
“And if we do marry, we have to be monogamous, right?”  
“That is correct.”  
“Then it’s not an option at all.” I said, turning as Jean Claude took my other hand.  
“Then goodbye, Anita. I apologise for any…discomfort,” she glanced at Cel, “my visit may have caused you.” She walked further into the room and I saw her look at Kendrick. “And you and I, Kendrick, will be having words when you return to court.”  
“Yeah. I’d like a word with Kendrick too.” I said and saw him glance at me. Andais and Cel left in a flourish of black material and Ravens.  
Once we were alone Galen came and took Rhys and I in a hug. “I’m really sorry, guys. I didn’t know.”  
“It’s okay, Galen. We’d kept it pretty quiet, up until now.” I pulled away from him and stalked towards Kendrick. “How the hell did you find out?”  
“I heard Jean Claude and Asher speaking when they returned.”  
“And you went running to Andais.”  
“She is my queen.” He shrugged.  
“We were speaking French.” Jean Claude said from across the room, I glanced at Asher and he nodded his agreement.  
“I speak French.” Kendrick said.  
“This I did not realise.” Jean Claude said quietly and I wondered what other seemingly private conversations had been overheard.  
“What happened to Edward?” I asked.  
“He left, he said, ‘to follow his own lines of enquiry’.”  
I nodded. Edward was a big boy, he could look after himself. “Back to the matter at hand, Kendrick, if you could please fuck off, we’ve business to discuss.”  
“I report only to Jean Claude and the Unseelie courts.” He smiled down at me.  
“And I am Princess of the Unseelie, Kendrick.” Merry came to stand beside me. “And Anita’s word is my word. If she tells you to fuck off, then you fuck off. Do you understand me?”  
He glanced between the two of us, both at least a foot shorter than him, but bowed slightly. “Yes, your highness.” And he left.  
Jason went and made coffee then we all sat around on the sofas and comfy chairs going over what we knew.  
“We aren’t going to get anywhere just sitting here.” I wanted to get up and pace the floor but Rhys’ hand on my knee and Jean Claude’s around my shoulders kept me in place.  
“We have no clues as to their whereabouts. Where would you suggest we go then, ma petite?”  
“Anywhere. Maybe we could lure them into a trap maybe we could…” Realisation came knocking at the door suddenly and I pushed my way to my feet. “Where’s Nathaniel and the rest of the Pard?”  
“I would assume they are at your house.”  
“Shit.” I ran for the door. “Someone call my place, if there’s anyone there tell them to be careful. I’m on my way.”  
Rhys, Merry and her guards were at my heels as I opened the jeep and peeled out of the car park.  
“It’s too obvious.” I said as I drove. “Why did I not think to tell the Pard to keep a low profile? I told the wolves and rats. Dammit!” I hammered my fist into the steering wheel.   
“It’s okay. You’ve had a lot to worry about.” Rhys rested a hand on my leg.  
“What if I’ve failed them, Rhys? What kind of Nimir-Ra does that make me?”  
“Let’s see what awaits us first.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anita gets a lead.

What awaited us was carnage, but not in the way I’d expected. Every light was on and the front door was part open. We all had our weapons drawn; Galen and Frost had gone around the back. I could hear loud noise from the house as though the TV was turned up too loud. Merry and Rhys stood either side of the open door; I was crouched hugging the open side of the frame. I stretched out my right leg and pushed the door fully open. No bullets rained down on us, no one yelled. I took that as a good sign. I glanced at Rhys stood opposite me and nodded once then rolled myself through the door, coming up against the stairs with my gun pointed towards the lounge. I heard breaking glass suddenly from the kitchen and screams.  
I was on my feet and heading towards the kitchen before Rhys or Merry even made it through the front door.  
Cherry and Zane had been sat at the table by the look of things, now they were both on the floor with their hands above their heads. Nathaniel stood by the stove, his hands also raised but an oven glove on each one. Food stuffs were all over the surfaces and a cook book stood open. It looked like Nathaniel had been baking, or trying to. Frost and Galen stood in the doorway, the glass broken. Galen’s gun pointed at Cherry and Zane, Frost’s at Nathaniel.  
“Hi, Anita.” Nathaniel said sheepishly, his eyes wide. I put up my gun with a sigh. “It’s okay, Frost, Galen. You remember Nathaniel?”  
They each put up their guns and I walked towards Cherry and Zane.  
“Sorry to scare you guys. I told you I had house guests this weekend.”  
“Sorry.” Said Cherry, taking the hand I offered her and rubbing her face around it. “Nathaniel said you’d gone to Columbia to see Rhys and that he was sure you wouldn’t mind.”  
Zane rubbed his face on my hand next, Nathaniel coming up behind me on all fours and abasing himself at my feet.  
“Come on, guys, we have company. Up off the floor, please.” They each stood reluctantly. Oh well. At least they were dressed. “I’m glad you’re all here anyway. You can pass out the word that no wereleopard is to go anywhere unaccompanied. Keep a low profile, keep in numbers that kind of thing.”  
“Can we stay here?” That was Nathaniel.   
“Sorry, they know where I live. Here is possibly one of the worse places to stay safe right now. You can go to the Circus though. Jean Claude won’t mind.” I hoped.  
“I’ll make a few calls.” Cherry said and moved to the phone. “Anita, you have a message.”  
“Play it.” I said as Nathaniel got out the dustpan and brush to sweep up the broken glass. Galen moved to help him.  
The answer phone started its playback.  
“Anita, it’s Richard.” I felt every eye turn on me, especially Rhys. “If you’re there pick up.” His voice stopped for a moment obviously waiting to see if I’d pick up. “Okay, you’re not there. When you get this call me. By the way I don’t think your beeper’s working.” That was it.   
I checked the beeper on my waistband. He was right. The display was dead.  
“Zane, would you change the battery?” He took the beeper and went to what he called the junk draw. Full of the stuff that had no other home but was needed nevertheless. I let Cherry use the main phone and moved through to the lounge to call Richard. Rhys followed me and watched me intently as I dialled Richard’s number from memory. He answered on the third ring.  
“Richard, it's Anita.”  
“Hi. I’m glad you called back. I’ve got a very upset weretiger pacing my kitchen.”  
“Christine?”  
“Yeah, Christine. She says some other lycanthropes approached her and invited her to join their pack.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah. She wasn’t sure who else she could come to so she called me and I called you.”  
“Thanks, Richard. Can I speak to her?”  
“Sure.”  
Christine came on the line a few moments later. She was the only weretiger I’d met and I knew their numbers didn’t stretch to those of the wolves or rats. Tiger Lycanthropy just wasn’t as contagious.  
“Anita.”  
“Hi, Christine. Tell me what happened.”  
“I was on my way to work when these two guys stepped out. I thought at first they wanted trouble but then I realised they were lycanthropes of some sort. They gave me a business card and said that their group was looking for shifters like myself, alone, and to call them to set up a meeting with their leader.”  
“Is that all?”  
“It’s enough. They sounded like they were preaching for some religion. To say they were passionate about their cause was an understatement.”  
“What did the card say on it?”  
“Just something in French and a cell phone number.”  
“Does it say Menagerie?”  
“That’s the one, how did you know?”  
“Call it a hunch. Listen, Christine I need to find these people. Do not willingly go anywhere with them, they’ve already hurt two of my people. I don’t want to add you to the list. Can you give me the number?” She did and I wrote it down on the little notepad Nathaniel had brought me.  
“What are you going to do, Anita?”  
“Probably pretend I’m you and set up a meet.”  
“Good plan. Good luck with it.”  
“Thanks, Christine. Put the word out for everyone to be careful, okay?”  
“Sure. Richard wants another word so I’ll hand you over. Bye, Anita.”  
“See you, Christine.”  
The line was silent for a moment then; “Anita, what’s going on?”  
“Richard, you know as much as I do.”  
“I didn’t mean with The Menagerie. Jason told me you’d been in hospital but he wouldn’t tell me why.”  
“I was attacked by The Menagerie. I was dropped thirty feet. The docs just wanted to make sure I was okay.”  
“That’s what Jason said.”  
“So what’s the problem?” I moved away from Rhys and waved him back when he went to follow.  
“I could smell he was lying.”  
I was quiet for a moment. “It’s personal, Richard. I’m fine now.”  
“I could ask Jason again.”  
“You mean beat it out of him?”   
“Something like that.”  
“Dammit, Richard, this is none of your business. Don’t make Jason suffer just because I won’t tell you why I was in hospital.” I moved to sit on top of the stairs.  
“He’s a member of my pack. I can treat him anyway I see fit.”  
“And he’s my friend. Does that mean I’m not allowed to have any friends inside the pack unless they report back to you?”  
It was his turn to be quiet. “No I suppose not.”  
“If you want to know it was a girl thing. I landed heavily on a branch and suffered some bleeding. They wanted to make sure I’d done no real damage.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t be sorry, Richard, just don’t push it. I’m having enough problems as it is without you adding to the list.”  
“Alright, Anita. Let me know if you need any help.”  
“You offering just yourself or the pack?”  
“The pack. You’re still their Lupa, at least until I choose another.”  
“That’s right, I am. Keep them safe for me, Richard.”  
“I will.”  
I hung up. Nathaniel was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He crawled up them to sit a few steps down from me, his head rested on my knees. I stroked his long auburn hair absentmindedly.  
“You lied to Richard.”  
“Yep.”  
“Why?”  
“Because it’s not his business anymore.”  
“You smell normal again. Not like you did when you were sick.”   
“Lets just say that what was making me sick is gone.” I said with a sad sigh. I looked up to see Rhys standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up at us. He nodded once and went back into the kitchen.


	28. Chapter 28

I packed the leopards off to the circus and made one more call before I called to set up a meet with The Menagerie.  
“Edward, its Anita.”  
“Hey, you have any luck in Columbia?”  
“No. The guy murdered his wife and baled out. The cops are looking for him though.”  
“Too bad. I’d have given you a cut.”  
“You know I’m not interested in money, Edward.”  
“I know. I still like to offer. You generally make my job easier.”  
“Listen, I’ve got a number where I can reach this Menagerie.”  
“How did you get that?” He sounded impressed.  
“Lets just say that sometimes it helps which monsters you know.”  
“Okay. I won’t ask again. What are you going to do?”  
“Set up a meet. I thought you might like to come along as back up.”  
“If I get to kill stuff I’d follow you into hell itself.”  
“Thanks, Edward, I think. I’ll call you when I have the details. Any suggestions where we should stage it? Apart from somewhere public?”  
“Lunatic Café?”  
“Too close to the wolves.”  
“Dead Dave’s?”  
“Too close to the vamps.”  
“How about the coffee shop where we met the rat king before we took out Nikolaos?”  
“Just like old times, huh?”  
“Yeah, just like old times.” I didn’t need to see him to know he was smiling.  
“I’ll call you with a time, Edward.”  
“Okay, people, here are the options.” Merry, Frost and Galen were sitting at the table in the window overlooking the backyard. Rhys was pouring coffee. “Option one. This has nothing to do with you guys. You are welcome to go to a hotel or go home, go to the mounds, whatever.”  
“Like that’s gonna happen.” Said Galen.  
“You know we’ll see this through to the end with you, Anita.” Merry said and I smiled.  
“I knew you would but what kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t give you the chance to back out? Option two, go to the circus and wait for Edward and I to turn up with whoever we manage to take or whatever info we manage to get out of them. And finally option three. We all go to the coffee shop and wait for these jerks to show up then we take them by force.”  
“Option three.” Rhys raised his hand.  
“Option three.” Frost agreed.   
Merry and Galen both raised their hands. “Option three.”  
“Oh good.” I smiled. “It’s unanimous. I hate split votes.”   
I called the number Christine had given me and spoke softly. I was told two representatives would meet me at the café in one hour. I called Edward back and we agreed to go to the café now, to stake the place out.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things work out for once!

I sat in a booth at the back of the café with my hair in a tight French braid giving the illusion of a lot less hair. I was wearing a red skirt suit with a black silk tank top. I’d added a little more make up than I was used to and three-inch high heels. I looked as little like me as was possible without dyeing or cutting my hair.  
I stirred my almond coffee again and looked at the door. I was aware of Edward sitting in the booth to my right and that Merry and Galen sat by the door. Rhys and Frost were waiting in the car. When I took the stirrer out of my coffee and laid it on the table that would mean that the men had just walked in. I felt a little odd, being the only one who could sense shapeshifters on sight, or smell or whatever and we were hoping that they wouldn’t recognise me. If they did they might decide this is too good an opportunity to miss and just off me here. I hoped the dark make up and lack of black curls would be enough.  
They arrived twenty minutes late. Not the way to make a good impression. They looked like complete opposites. One was tall, blond, tanned, muscled and look like he should have had a surfboard under one arm, the other was short, balding, with small round glasses and looked like he needed a briefcase. They were each wearing slacks and a shirt. They glanced around and I sucked at my stirrer, staring at them until they noticed me. Surfer-dude smiled and nudged his friend who then looked at me too. They started towards the me and I lay the stirrer on the table. They slid into the booth opposite me, Surfer-dude still smiling. I put my right hand under the table and picked up my Browning, which had been sitting on my lap.  
“Christine, I presume?” Surfer-dude asked, with a smile and a raised eyebrow.  
I smiled back as I saw Edward move to face us, his own gun in his hand, Merry and Galen get up from their table and Rhys and Frost enter the door.  
“Actually I’m Anita Blake, Nimir-Ra of the Blooddrinkers clan and Lupa of the Thronnos Rokke clan.” The smiles slipped from their faces. “And at this moment there are at least two guns loaded with silver shot pointed at you, so keep your hands where I can see them or we’ll see which of you bleeds fastest.”  
Short, fat and balding swallowed hard enough for me to hear and nodded. “What do you want?”  
“You’re coming on a little ride with us.” Rhys and Frost reached the table. The two lycanthropes glanced around them and sagged. They knew when they were beaten. It was nice to meet someone who wouldn’t try and fight their way out of an impossible situation…oh wait, that’s me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny short chapter this one, so bonus fourth chapter too! Yay!


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who needs torture with friends like these? Also Jean Claude does not like Anita's braid.

The four men bound the new lycanthropes with silver chains and cloth gags. Rhys drove as I called ahead to the circus to let Jean Claude know he was having company.  
“Ma petite, you are bringing two strange lycanthropes to me while the circus is open?”  
“Firstly, Jean Claude, everyone in town knows where you live anyway and secondly two men in chains is not the weirdest thing your patrons will see tonight.”  
He seemed to think about it for a moment. “I suppose not. Bring them along. Jason will meet you at the staff entrance.”  
Both Jason and Asher were there to help with the two men and I went down the steps first, carefully on my heels, with Merry just behind me. The first thing that happened as I walked through the door was I realised Richard was there. The second thing was Jean Claude gasping; “Mon dieu! What has happened to your hair?”  
“It’s just caught back, Jean Claude, nothing’s gone.” He paced around me and examined the braid. I sighed and rolled my eyes back in my head.  
“May I?” I felt his hand hovering just behind me.  
“Knock yourself out.”  
He took the tie from the bottom of the braid and untangled it. My hair fell in softer curls than usual as we’d dampened my hair to get them to sit flat. “Where are your lovely curls, ma petite?”  
“They’re in here somewhere, they’ll come back. Stop fussing.” I stepped away from him and rubbed my scalp with my fingers to get rid of the feeling of the braid.  
The men escorted in the two lycanthropes and Richard stood, coming to stand on the other side of me to Jean Claude. I felt the marks flare, and then dampen as we all automatically put our shields in place. Rhys looked at me, stood between Jean Claude and Richard and something passed over his eyes, I wasn’t sure what, but something.  
“Can you tell what flavour they are?” I asked Richard and knew he’d understand what I meant.  
“Not from here.” He walked towards them and Rhys came and stood in his place. The power between the three of us flared then but none of us shielded ourselves. None of us minded this power. I reached out and touched Rhys’ hand and he gasped as the power flowed between us. I turned and smiled at him.  
A startled sound from across the room brought my attention back to Richard. He was staring at the three of us from where he stood in front of our prisoners, oh sorry, guests.  
“What was that?” His eyes were slightly wide.  
“You felt that, mon ami?”  
“Yeah.”  
Jean Claude took my other hand and led Rhys and I towards Richard. At Jean Claude’s touch the power flared enough to make me shudder and it only got worse the closer we got to Richard. I stopped dead in my tracks about a meter from Richard but Rhys and Jean Claude kept walking, me in the middle like a stubborn child, pulling against their hands but I couldn’t get any purchase in the three-inch heels. The power level was almost choking and I was finding it difficult to breath. Richard’s breath was coming fast too, although Jean Claude and Rhys seemed unaffected. I tugged hard against their arms and they stopped, turning to look at me.  
“What’s wrong, ma petite?”  
I shook my head. “Can’t you feel it?”  
“The power?” Rhys asked.  
“No, the tectonic plates moving. Yes the power.”  
“It’s there, in the background, as it always is with the three of us.”  
“She doesn’t mean your power.” Richard said. He took a step towards me and I tried to step back but Rhys and Jean Claude’s hands stopped me, instead I fell to the floor, hands still held in theirs. Richard didn’t stop; instead he went to his knees and crawled towards me, his eyes a wolfish amber.  
I snatched my hands from Rhys and Jean Claude and back-pedalled quickly until I hit a chair. As soon as I released their hands, Richard shook his head and stopped, a look of puzzlement on his face. I glanced around and saw everyone in the room looking around with the same expression. I hugged my arms to me and found I was cold, shivering. Rhys came towards me but I shook my head and tried to push myself back through the chair.  
“Don’t touch me, Rhys. Nobody touch me.”  
He crouched about two feet away from me. “What happened?”  
“I have no idea. Didn’t you guys feel the change in the power as we got closer to Richard?”  
Rhys shook his head and looked at Jean Claude who shrugged his Gallic shrug that could mean anything.  
“I felt it.” Richard said.  
“Yeah, I noticed.” I said. “What were you going to do? Eat me?”  
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I just needed to be closer to the power, to you.”  
“Perhaps this is a side effect we had not considered.” Jean Claude said.  
“Side effect of what?” I pushed myself to my feet and moved around the chair so it was between me and everyone else in the room.  
“As nice as this is watching you guys go all metaphysical on us, we have work to do.” Edward said. I was suddenly reminded we had people to interrogate, sorry, question.  
“This can wait.” I said and walked back towards the lycanthropes. “Edward, sit our guests down and take off their gags.” The two lycanthropes dropped to their knees without having to be asked, they just slumped onto the floor in front of Edward.  
“Richard, did you get any idea what flavour they are?”  
“A little.” He walked towards me. “One of them is definitely cat, the other I’m not sure.”  
“Thanks, Richard, you might want to leave now.”  
“What?” He stopped in his tracks and stared at me. “Why?”  
“This might lead to torture, I don’t think you want to see that.” I took off my jacket in front of the two men, revealing the two wrist sheaths. I turned and handed the jacket to Galen with a smile and a wink. He frowned at me, not quite sure what I was going to do. I wasn’t actually sure myself. I hoped threats worked on these guys because I really didn’t want to cut them up, not on Jean Claude’s white carpet anyway. Richard still hadn’t left so I continued.  
“Easy way or hard way, guys.” I turned to them. They were un-gagged now; Surfer-dude’s eyes were wide, showing too much white but Shorty looked at me with cold eyes. I drew one of my knives and started to walk back to them but Merry touched my arm. I turned to look at her.  
“May I?” she asked, indicating to the knife.  
“Sure.” I said with a frown of my own as she took the blade from my hand.  
“You ask the questions, I’ll be…creative.”   
I shrugged. “Okay .”  
“Think sexy thoughts.” She whispered in my ear as she walked, no glided, towards them. I watched her go. She positively oozed sexual energy, even in the conservative navy blue suit she was wearing. I found myself staring open mouthed. There were more similarities between this girl and her aunt than I cared to admit. She turned and held a hand out to me. “Anita?”  
I walked to her and took her hand. The men around us all took seats, except Edward who stood at their backs like the pro he was, eyes cold and unmoving.  
“Do you boys know anything about the fey?” Merry asked as she crouched in front of them. I knew from the angle she was flashing them but it seemed to be deliberate.  
“A little.” Surfer-dude replied.  
“Do you know the difference between the Seelie and Unseelie courts?” Merry’s voice was almost sing-songy, and she looked at the knife in her hand as she spoke, as though it fascinated her.  
“No.” Surfer-dude shook his head.  
“What about you?” I said, crouching in the same pose as Merry in front of Shorty. He did to a double take on my underwear and thigh-high hose. I was glad it all matched. I drew my second knife and it brought his attention back up from between my legs. The silver glinted in the light. “Do you know the difference between the Courts?”  
“Only that the Unseelie is the dark court, the crueller of the two.” His voice was a hoarse whisper. This obviously wasn’t the questioning he was expecting.  
“I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” Merry said leaning towards them so her face was between theirs. “I’m next in line for the Unseelie throne.” She whispered. I felt Shorty tense in front of me; I was guessing he knew more about the courts than he was letting on. Merry noticed him tense too and ran her tongue up his cheek. He made a piteous groan in his throat and tried to move away, but I moved to hold his face in place with my hand. Merry glanced at me, her tri-colour green eyes shining. A brief nod was my cue.  
“What does The Menagerie want with Thronnos Rokke and Blooddrinkers?” I asked.  
“Just you.” He said, his eyes were wide as Merry started to trace small circles on his cheek with her fingernails.  
“Why?”  
“Because the word is you hold the two clans together, bring order to each. Without you the pack structures would collapse and they’d be easy picking.”  
I didn’t need to look at Richard to know how angry he was, I could feel his energy prickling through the air like a living thing.  
“How many are there in your group?”  
“Fifteen now.”  
“What kind of lycanthropes are you?”  
“He’ll kill us.”  
“Then you’re lucky, because I’m going to hurt you.” Merry whispered into his ear and he promptly passed out.  
“Goddamit.” I said as I moved to let him slump to the floor. “Your turn.” I said, moving to straddle Surfer-dude.  
“Oh God! I’ll tell you everything I know, just don’t let her touch me!” He was staring wide eyed at Merry, his breath coming too fast.  
“Your highness?” I said to Merry with a slight smile.  
“I’ll wait right over here.” She moved to the sofa to sit between Galen and Frost. Rhys moved to sit at her feet and she kissed each of them in turn, long lingering kisses. It looked like Merry was use to putting on displays of strength. I turned back to the lycanthrope I was straddling. His breathing had eased a little but his eyes were still wide, sweat glistened on his forehead and top lip.  
“Spill it.” I said. And he did.  
Ciaran Chambers led The Menagerie. He’d formed the group for lycanthropes without enough numbers to have a pack. It had started out that they were like a pack and stayed in one area but then some members of The Menagerie had got in trouble with a local werecougar pack a few states over. As retribution Ciaran had had the pack destroyed, except for the few submissives he recruited into The Menagerie. He’d taken their properties and business and sold them, making a tidy profit. This seemed to be more important to him than a stable pack so they started travelling from state to state, taking what they could by force. Word soon reached them of the Thronnos Rokke Clan and their human Lupa, and that I was also Nimir-Ra of the Blooddrinkers clan. Apparently we were a prize too good to pass up.   
“But that’s all I know, I swear.” I’d sat back halfway through his confession and listened intently, amazed at how easily the truth came spilling out of him. He had a guilty conscience if ever I saw one.  
“There might be one more thing you can tell us.” I said. “Where is Ciaran Chambers?”  
“I don’t know.” Merry got up and started to walk towards us. “Alright! He’s in town; he brought us here from Columbia in small groups. Everyone’s in town now. He has a house he’s renting.” He gave me the address. “He’ll kill me if he finds out what happened.”  
“So run.” I said. “Leave and don’t come back.” I thought for a moment. “What kind of lycanthrope are you?”  
He smiled sheepishly, I think he was embarrassed. An embarrassed shapeshifter. Fancy that? “A porcupine.” He said quietly.  
I raised an eyebrow. Hey, that was a new one on me. “What about your friend here?” I poke Shorty with my toe.  
“He’s a bear.”   
A bear. Like the one at the first crime scene. “Well kid, you’ve earned your wings.” I stood and looked over at Edward. “Want to ask any questions?”  
“Just one.” Edward said. “What are all the other lycanthropes?”  
I nodded. Couldn’t believe I’d missed that one.  
He listed them for us. Jason got pen and paper and played the good little secretary.  
There were three bears (no Goldilocks), two badgers, one spider, four cougars, two gorillas, an owl, himself and Chambers.  
“What’s Chambers?”  
“I don’t know. He’s different. He seems to be able to change into whatever he wants, almost, as long as it’s in the group.”  
“You mean he can change what animal he is as long as one of them is already a member of The Menagerie?” I knew my face portrayed the shock I was feeling.  
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Every time we got a new member he shared blood with them, unless there was already one of that species in the group.”  
I walked over to Edward and beckoned Richard over. We walked to the far corner. “Well, boys? What do you think?”  
“He told the truth.” Richard said. “I could smell it on him.”  
“Yeah, me too.” I felt them both turn their eyes on me.  
“What did you just say?” Edward said.  
“I knew he was telling the truth.” I said.  
“No, you didn’t, you said you could smell it.” Richard said.  
“No, I didn’t.” I said, but realised I had, and it was the truth, I had smelled it on him. Just like now I could smell the surprise on Richard and the suspicion on Edward. “Ignore that for a moment, what about spiky here?”   
We all glanced at the wereporcupine sitting on the floor then back at each other.  
“He can’t just be let go.” Edward said. “He might warn Chambers.”  
“And he needs to be punished for harming Stephen, even indirectly.” I glanced at Richard as he said it.  
“Pack law.” I said. He nodded once.  
“His pack harmed my pack. He and his friend here are at our mercy.”  
“His friend may be the murderer Dolph’s looking for. I’m in two minds as to whether we should let you punish him or hand him over to the cops.”  
“We can just take one for retribution and let the cops have the other.”  
“Before or after we’ve taken out Chambers?” Edward asked and I smiled at him.  
“After.” I said.  
“Why not just had him over to the cops too?” Edward and I turned to look at Richard. Edward had an amused expression on his face that said; 'where’s the fun in that?' But the logic was there. Why should we endanger ourselves more when the cops were paid to do it? But then it was personal. I looked over at Rhys, sat with Merry and remembered the hurt on his face.  
“Because its personal.” I said still staring at Rhys.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little talking, Richard is reasonable, again; Merry is worried.

Richard called for Jamil and Shang Da, his bodyguards, to come help him take the two lycanthropes away. He said they had somewhere they could keep them and stop them changing and escaping. He invited me to come to their judgement in three nights time. I stood in the storeroom that led to the staff parking lot with Richard as Shang Da and Jamil loaded the men into a waiting van.  
“I’d still be interested to know what the power was I felt from you.” Richard was saying.  
“Me too.” I sighed.  
“What’s the power situation with you, Rhys and Jean Claude?”  
“Its all death related. We’re not a triumvirate, like with you. Rhys use to be a death god, I’m a necromancer…”  
“And Jean Claude’s dead.” He finished.  
“Exactly. But if the power called to you as well, the triumvirate may effect the four of us rather than just the three.”  
“It’s worth considering, I suppose.” He looked serious all of a sudden. “You seem different, Anita. You said you smelt the truth on this guy, and you taste…different. It’s nothing physical, maybe it’s the new power with Rhys, but I don’t think so. In my mind you feel… you feel like a shapeshifter. A good one, but still a shapeshifter.”  
“I’ve not been scratched by anything since Gabriel.” I said. “So it’s not that. And you know I don’t take the inoculations.” He laughed then. That was how Richard had contracted Lycanthropy.  
“Maybe it’s the Pard’s influence on you. Whatever it is, my…” he paused for a moment, “beast was called by it.”  
“I don’t know what it was, Richard, it’s just one of many weird things that’s been happening to me lately.”  
“You don’t seem too bothered by this sudden influx of power.”  
I shrugged. “I can’t do anything about it, why let it worry me?”  
Shang Da appeared in the doorway like an angry cloud. He didn’t like me.  
“Your dad’s waiting.” I said indicating to the door.   
He turned and glanced at Shang Da then turned back to me with a smile on his face. “He really doesn’t like you.”  
“I know. And I understand.”  
“You do?” He was frowning again.  
“Yeah. He’s supposed to protect you, but there’s nothing he can do to protect your heart. I’ve hurt you and he couldn’t stop it.”  
Richard nodded. “I’ll see you at the Lupanar in three days.”  
“Goodbye, Richard.” He bent his head as though to kiss me. “Don’t make it any harder than it already is.” I said, looking down.  
“Goodbye, Anita.” He left while I was still looking at the ground.   
I stood at the open door enjoying the night breeze for several minutes after he left. He was right, things were different. Since Richard helped use the munin to heal me the marks between us seemed stronger and I was sensing things only a shapeshifter would. If I had been scratched, I’d have been worried I was going to go furry next full moon. But I hadn’t, so I wasn’t, but…well I still felt different.  
I felt a hand on my bare arm and turned to see Merry.  
“Everything alright?” She asked.  
“Everything’s fine.” I said stepping away from the door and letting it close.  
“I haven’t had the chance to speak with you since the hospital. Are you really okay?”  
“I think Rhys needs friends more than me right now.”  
“But that doesn’t mean you don’t need us. I’m here for you, Anita.”  
“I know.” I took her in a hug, which was weird because I’m used to hugging people taller than me. I overshadowed Merry by a whole three inches, six with the heels.  
“Talk to us, Anita. Please don’t block us out.”  
“If I need to talk, I know where you are. But right now, I really just want this Menagerie caught.”   
She pulled away from me and looked into my eyes. “Don’t let revenge cloud over everything else.”  
“Don’t worry, Merry. After revenge, Rhys is my number one priority.”  
“Anita, after revenge, you should be your number one priority.”   
“Okay, after revenge, I’ll be my number one priority.”  
She hugged me again and I let her. In truth, I needed the comfort.


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another plan is planned.

The plan was simple. We get our numbers together and storm the place. At least that was how it started.  
Edward came back from his car with a set of street maps of the area and spread them on the table.  
“This is the address we have. It’s surrounded by trees, next to no neighbours and right out of the way.”  
“Sounds familiar.” Said Rhys glancing at me.  
I’d changed my skirt for black jeans and three-inch heels for black Nikes. I kept the silk tank top on. It appeared that someone had worn the two polo shirts I kept at Jean Claude’s and not replaced them. I blamed Jason.   
“It does sound familiar.” I bent over the map and Edward, stood opposite cleared his throat.  
“As sure as I am we’ve all see your breasts before, Anita, you’re flashing them.”  
I narrowed my eyes at him in a scowl and put a hand to my chest, holding my top in place. Jason was grinning from his place next to Edward.  
“Can we unfold the map a little more?”  
We moved the map to the floor and I got on my hands and knees.  
“Pen.” I held up my hand and Edward handed me the highlighter he was holding. I circled the house on the map then found the street name. It was very familiar. I traced it back to the main road with my finger then found the street name I was looking for. I circled another building. As you looked at the map the front drive of the second house overlooked the trees that marked the rear of the first house.  
“What’s that?” Edward crouched beside me.  
“My house.”  
“Shit.” Edward moved around to look from my angle as everyone else looked at the two yellow circles.  
“They shot me, ran through the trees up the side of the house, over the road and into their own backyard. The bastards could have taken me anytime they wanted.” A thought struck me then. “Where’d Nathaniel go?” I looked up at Jason.  
“Guest rooms.” He replied.  
“Can you get him for me?” Jason moved off to do what he was told without a word. It made a nice change.  
“What’s wrong, Anita?” Rhys said as I got to my feet and stepped off the map.  
“I have to ask Nathaniel something.”  
As if on cue Jason came back with Nathaniel in tow. I walked straight up to him and he stopped when we met in the middle of the room.  
“Nathaniel, when The Menagerie attacked you, where did they take you from?”  
“From your place.” He said.  
“Bastards!” I yelled and Nathaniel dropped to his knees beside me. “Oh God, Nathaniel, not you, get up.” I gave him a hand and helped him to his feet. He stood very close to me and didn’t let go of my hand.  
“Were you supposed to be home that day?” Edward asked.  
“I’d been home every day for the past week with just Jason for company, Nathaniel and others from the Pard came over a couple of times to make sure I didn’t need anything, but generally it was just me and Jason.”  
“All alone.” Jason said with a grin.  
“Yeah, me throwing up and you playing nursemaid.” I shot at him.  
“Oh, Anita, you said you liked the uniform.”  
“What made you go out that day?” Edward asked, undeterred.  
“I had to pick Merry up at the airport.”  
“So chances are they thought you’d be home. When they got there Nathaniel was the only one in so they took it out on him.”  
“Jeez, they were going to lift me from my sick bed.”  
“I think so.”  
“Well that’s just rude.” I said. Jean Claude laughed at that but no one else seemed to think it was very funny. He came to me and took my face in his hands.  
“Ma petite, only you could say an attempted murder was rude.” He laid a soft kiss on my forehead.  
“That’s as maybe but what do we do? Are we going to try and get them at home, or shall we set them a trap at my place?”   
“A trap would be best, if we have enough people stationed around the area then it shouldn’t be a problem.” Edward glanced at Jean Claude. “That’s where you come in handy.”  
“It is true I am happy to supply the back up needed however I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but it’s almost dawn. The trap will have to wait until tomorrow night. Ma petite, you and your guests are welcome to stay of course. I think perhaps it will be the safest place for you at the moment certainly.” As much as I hated it when Jean Claude was right, on this occasion I had to agree with him.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected bedmate.

I woke in a tangle of arms and legs. I was used to that part from when the Pard stopped over. Rhys had just gotten used to the idea we all slept like a pile of puppies. Hell, I’d just got used to the idea myself. What was unnerving at this moment was the fact that the person snuggled against my back, was human. Not fey, not vampire, not lycanthrope, but human. I was lying on my side with my head on Rhys, that much I could see, but who was pressed against my back with their cheek rested against mine? Not only that but their arm was wrapped around my waist and was holding my hand. I glanced around the room and caught vague outlines of furniture and curtains around the bed. What the hell was I doing in bed with Rhys, a human…male, definitely male, in Jean Claude’s bedroom?   
I wasn’t naked, I could feel a t-shirt covering my top half, my underwear was safely in place but the t-shirt had hiked up around my waist during the night. Whoever was behind me had shorts on but the expanse of bare flesh that was his chest and stomach pressed in a solid line against my spine.  
I turned slightly to see if I could see who was using me as a pillow and nearly screamed in shock. As I moved, Edward moved his head slightly to snuggle lower into the crook of my neck. What the fuck was I doing in bed with Edward? Then the night before came flooding back.

“I will give up my room for the Princess if she so desires to stay.” Asher said after Jean Claude had offered me his room for the night.  
“I’ll give up my bed if I can share with Anita.” Jason had said with a shrug. We’d all glared at him. “Well it sounded like a good idea to me.”  
“That may not be such a bad idea actually, ma petite.” I’d turned my glare on Jean Claude. “Safety in numbers. If we are all going to be sleeping, there is nothing to stop le Menagerie from striking again during daylight and killing you where you sleep. Perhaps Jason in your bed along with Rhys would not be such a bad idea.”  
“No way.” I shook my head.  
“Then someone else to share your bed, please ma petite, for your sake.”  
“Who?”  
“None of your Pard are strong enough to keep you safe, perhaps another wolf?”  
“I don’t trust any other wolves, apart from Sylvie, and she works.”  
“Then unless you can suggest anyone else, it is Jason.”   
I’d glanced around the room. Merry had her two guards, the vamps would all be dead to the world in under an hour, leaving me with the Pard, who were just cannon fodder waiting to happen or Jason. Then a thought struck me and I turned my smile on Edward.  
“Don’t look at me, Anita, I have a perfectly good hotel room to go to.”  
“Oh come on, Edward, it’ll be fun. An good old fashioned sociopath sleep over.”  
“No.”  
“You can choose whichever side of the bed you like.”  
“No.”  
“Fine.” I sighed dramatically. “Jason, a few rules. You sleep in clothes; no biting, licking, kissing, tickling or touching other than is necessary to share a bed. No double entendres, no suggesting a threesome, no…”  
“Alright, alright.” Edward said, “You win.”  
Jason had looked a little disappointed but I’d had no time to soothe his ego, I’d wanted someone in bed with me I could trust with a gun, not just my life. Edward met that description. Oh and Rhys of course.

So here I was, in bed with a sociopath monster hit man and an Unseelie Raven. Some days my life is too weird even for me.  
I pressed the display button on my watch with my chin and looked at the lit up display. It was almost one in the afternoon. Damn, we were supposed to be up by now.  
I felt Edward stir behind me and cuddle a little closer. He moved his head slightly and kissed me softly on the cheek.  
“Morning, honey-pot.” His voice was heavy with an accent I’d never heard from him.  
“Morning, Edward.” I replied.  
“Shit!” He sat bolt upright, or rather tried to, his other arm trapped underneath me.  
“Relax, Edward, you’re at the circus, remember?”  
“Oh, yeah.” I lifted myself so he could retrieve his arm.  
“You sounded a little scared there for a second.” I said, my smile hidden in the dark.  
“Just surprised. I don’t often wake up with a warm female body beside me.”   
Rhys started to stir and I leant over him and turned on the bedside light.  
“And when you do, who’s honey-pot?”  
“Don’t start, Anita.”  
Rhys woke up enough to ask. “What’s going on?” He kissed me softly.  
“Nothing. I’m going in the bathroom, you two play nice and if you fall asleep again, watch Edward, and he likes to snuggle.”   
I’d just made it to the bathroom door when the pillow hit me in the back of the head.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another fight, another outfit.

By the time Jean Claude rose we were suited and booted and ready to kick some lycanthrope ass. Well Edward and I were anyway, but then we’re always ready.  
I was wearing all black again, something Jean Claude had bought for me and while I didn’t appreciate some of the items, they’d do quite nicely for sneaking around in the dark. The leather pants were soft, so soft they made no noise when I moved. The tank top was tight and while it looked like PVC it wasn’t, it was just a very soft, shiny material. I had on a pair of soft black boots that came to my knee with no heels. Jean Claude bought these with fighting in mind. A sheath with silver knife was built in to the side of each boot. I had the mini-Uzi from the special compartment Edward had had built into my car, my Browning in its shoulder holster, Firestar in it’s Uncle Mike’s inner pants holster, a knife on each wrist and one down my spine as long as my forearm. I’d debated about putting my Derringer in the back waistband of my pants but had changed my mind. It played havoc with the knife on my back not to mention made sitting uncomfortable. Even without it I looked like I was going into battle, which, in effect, I was. Edward had walked around me, also all in black, and admired the outfit, like a boy-scout leader checking his troupe was properly turned out.  
“Not something I would have said immediately screamed Anita when I saw it on the bed, but once on, it’s you.”  
“Thanks, Edward.” I said sarcastically, I knew he was making fun.  
Merry was wearing black jeans and a black polo shirt and I envied her. I was going after The Menagerie as Lupa and Nimir Ra and had to make a show of strength for each body, or Lukoi, or Pard or whatever. Frost was wearing dark grey, Galen dark green. Neither of them owned anything black. Frost had braided his hair in some complicated knot, halving the length, his sword hung at his waist, a gun on his hip. His weapons mirrored Galen’s only he didn’t need to braid his hair.  
Rhys on the other hand owned some black, he hadn’t but he did now. Jean Claude and I had been a bad influence on him. He was wearing black leather pants, almost a mirror of my own. He had a black leather tank top, which made his skin almost glow in contrast. His hair was also braided. He had more guns than Galen and Frost, three in total, but then he’d been hanging out with me for a couple of months. He also had his sword.  
Jean Claude and Asher hadn’t got dressed up for an assault. They’d just got dressed. Both wore outfits almost a mirror of each other. Black boots covered their legs to their upper thighs, black pants covering what remained. Jean Claude was wearing a deep blue silk shirt that brought out his eyes to maximum effect; Asher’s shirt was a slightly lighter shade, also bringing out his eyes. Asher had tied back his hair but Jean Claude’s fell loose around his shoulders. I had the sudden urge to drag him back to his room and run my fingers through his hair. The image was so strong I had to shake my head, covering my face with my hair so I didn’t have to see him directly.  
Jason was underdressed compared to the rest of us; tatty jeans and an old black t-shirt. I think he was expecting to have to change form at some point. If you were going to go furry you didn’t wear your best togs, no point in ruining them.   
The Pard had agreed to stay at the circus, they’d be no help and I’d spend the entire night worrying about them. I hadn’t been able to get hold of Richard so I had no help coming from him. Most of the other wolves I knew were submissives and no good in a fight. I knew Jason would put up a good effort, he wasn’t an alpha anything either, but he was still my friend. I’d tried hard to convince him not to come but it hadn’t worked. He was in it for the duration.  
Damian was here as well, all in black. He had assumed he was coming along and I hadn’t dissuaded him. He was good in a fight and he’d do what I told him. Normally that would have bothered me but tonight it just might be an advantage.  
We were still formulating the start of the plan, the main part being to get Chambers for Edward, and take all the other lycanthropes then call Dolph. I knew he wouldn’t like being kept in the dark but this was personal.  
“We could storm the house, everyone take an exit, window, whatever but then we run the risk of being separated and one of us being outnumbered.” Edward was saying.  
“And I would like to mention again that I do not think Merry should go in.” Frost said. We all sighed. He’s said as much about a gazillion times over the last half hour.  
“Frost.” Merry laid a hand softly on his arm. “Please, this is my choice. How many times has Anita risked her life for me?”  
“Several.” He sighed. “But you do not have a life debt to her, you do not need….”  
“Shhh.” She held her fingers to his lips, on tiptoes because the height difference between them is over a foot. “Its my choice to make.”  
His shoulders slumped slightly and I knew she’d won. I smiled slightly. What was it about small women that could take a fight out of a large man with soft words and a simple touch? I didn’t know, I wondered if King Kong had a clue.  
Edward rolled his eyes at me and I stifled a laugh. “And back to the main point…we could try and lure them out of the house, then we have the difficulty that if it spills into the trees, those of us not lycanthropically gifted will have a disadvantage.”  
“Not if we pick them off as they come out the door.” I said sipping the coffee Nathaniel had brought for us all.  
“That would only work for some of them though. As soon as they got wise to us playing ducks in a barrel with them they’d just stay inside.”  
“Maybe setting a trap would have been a better way to go.” Rhys said.   
“Maybe it’s not too late.” Edward said with a knowing smile.  
“What are you thinking, Edward?” I asked.  
“We make the perimeter of your house secure and then make it obvious you’ve gone home. They come for you, we take out whoever they send, then descend on their place. We can make it look like whoever they sent after you has succeeded and get into the house that way.”  
“It won’t work.” I shook my head. “They’ll be able to tell whoever pretends to be the lycanthropes that they’re not.”  
“So we keep at least one of them alive to take you in, we can have a gun on them and storm the place once you’re inside.”  
“Wait a second, you’re talking about sending Anita in alone?” Rhys came up beside me and rested a hand on my shoulder. “No way.”  
“Rhys, don’t go all Frost on me.” I heard Galen snigger behind me. “Unless anyone can come up with a better plan this is it. I don’t like the idea of us storming the place without knowing where everyone is, we just don’t have the numbers, and luring them outside will only work on a few, then we’re back to storming the place again.” I stared at Edward. “Agreed?”  
“Agreed.” Edward nodded.  
“Just one thing. Get me killed, Edward, and I’m coming back to haunt you.”  
“I’d figured that out a long time ago.” He said with a smile.


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When does a plan ever survive contact with the enemy? Or friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***This is your first SPIDER WARNING! Big spider, like huge, like *shudder* enormous. If you seriously hate spiders you have been warned!***

So I went home, alone. Not really alone but into the house alone. Everyone had parked a block away and walked to my place in the cover of darkness and trees. Except Jean Claude, Damian and Asher. They’d flown in to make sure I wasn’t walking into a trap. They’d come back, said the house was empty but being watched then they’d gone again, to watch the watchers.  
I sat at the top of the stairs with the lights out. I’d turned on only the light in the kitchen giving the impression I was there. I was going to sit here and wait them out. I had my mini-Uzi in my right hand, my Firestar in my left. I hoped the Uzi alone would put them off fighting back but either way; I was armed for bear, or cougar, or owl or whatever other lycanthrope came through the door.  
I didn’t have a long wait. There was a knock at my front door. I just sat and waited. Then another knock.  
“Anita? It’s Ronnie.”  
Shit. Just what I didn’t need. My best friend Veronica Simms and Rhys’ colleague. I edged down the stairs hoping no attack came while I was trying to get Ronnie out of the firing line. Nothing ever went as I planned, Goddamit. I put up the Firestar and opened the door just enough to see her.  
“Ronnie, what are you doing here?”  
“Rhys called to say his case was done and he was coming home and that you’d been in hospital. Can I come in?”  
“Not really. Do me a favour Ronnie, get in your car and go home, I’ll call you later.”  
“What’s wrong, Anita?”  
Just then the sound of breaking glass from the kitchen spun me round.  
“What was that?”  
“Just go, Ronnie!” I turned my back to the door and saw shadows moving around in the kitchen. Ronnie pushed the door until it hit me in the back.  
“Anita, what’s going on?”  
I didn’t answer, there’s only one thing really to do when two weregorillas and three werecougars in half human form come through your kitchen door towards you, you run. I sprayed the doorway with the Uzi, tugging the door open with my left hand.  
“Run!” I yelled as I turned, grabbing Ronnie’s arm and running outside.  
I could see movement in the trees to either side but there was no way of knowing which side they were on…I hoped it was mine. God I really hoped it was mine. Ronnie had drawn her own gun now and I’d let her go. I wasn’t sure where we were running to so I just headed away from the house.  
**“ma petite, Damian will appear before you in moments, try not to shoot him.”** Jean Claude sent to me and I had my hand on Ronnie’s gun hand as Damian appeared before us.  
“He’s with me.” I said as Ronnie jumped and tried to bring her gun up.  
“There are more of them than we thought.” Damian said. “We are outnumbered. Jean Claude wants me to get you out of here.” He rested a hand on my arm.  
“Not a chance. Get Ronnie out.”  
“Anita, we can’t just leave you.” Ronnie was saying, but my eyes were for the five figures emerging from my house.  
“That’s an order, Damian.”  
Without another word Damian took Ronnie in his arms and he was gone in that flight that only vampires can perform. I suddenly felt very alone and very exposed out in the middle of my front lawn with at least five were-animals approaching. I glanced around; trying to get a sense of what was out there but all I was sure of was that there were figures moving in the trees. The nearest trees were to the left of the house and I knew if I had any chance of reaching cover they were it. I just hoped there was someone out there who was on my side. I put on a sudden burst of speed and ran towards the tree line, aware that the five weres were doing the same. The cougars would catch me, of that I was sure of so I changed my angle and ran so I could spray them with bullets while still running towards the trees. It made the distance I had to run greater but the two cougars dropped, along with one of the gorillas. Great, three down, who knows how many to go.  
As I hit the trees I tried to open the mark with Richard to help me run, instead I found the scent of the Lukoi very close and to my right. I headed towards it, figuring it had to be Jason; he was the only member of the pack out with us. I almost ran past him, not seeing him in the dark.  
“Anita!” His voice hissed at me out of the darkness. I moved and crouched beside him. He was in a slight hollow, meaning at our height we were pretty much hidden.  
“What happened?” He whispered but I pushed a finger to his lips. We were up against weres here and their hearing was excellent. I tried to make him understand we had to change position so be was on the opposite side to the Uzi and he nodded once. He took my left hand in his right and we ran. Running with Jason in its own way was easier than running with Richard. Jason and I were very close in height, which meant our leg lengths were very similar, and our pace pretty even. I didn’t so much as get pulled along with Jason as flowed beside him. We were heading towards the road and some degree of civilisation when we ran head long into it.  
It was as though someone had stretched a net between two trees, a grey, sticky net. Jason and I glanced at each other as we tried to pull away backwards. We still had each others hands and helped each other back away and unstuck ourselves enough to run again.  
We didn’t get two steps before a shadow started to grow on the ground before us. I suddenly realised what the net had been. Cobwebs. Jason and I looked up simultaneously to see a nine-foot diameter spider descending towards us. We did the only thing we could do in the situation. We screamed. Well not the only thing, we also backed up very quickly, so quickly we fell. There was nothing even remotely human looking about the spider before us. It was so big each of its eyes glittered in the moonlight like Christmas tree baubles. Each of its eight legs was bigger than my waist and its fangs dripped with some clear, glutinous liquid.  
I got over my initial shock and brought the Uzi up firing into its underside. It’s back four legs seemed to give in pain and I rolled onto my side, pulling Jason along beside me. We ran again and I wished I’d practised the telepathy with Jean Claude a bit more; I could really have done with his help right now.  
We broke through the trees breathing heavily as much from fright as anything. We staggered onto the road, still holding onto each other’s hands like a lifeline. We glanced back at the trees but saw nothing approaching.  
“Let’s get off the road.” I said, my heart in my throat. Jason just nodded and we half jogged, half walked across the street. We were halfway across when we heard the gunning of an engine. Everything went into slow motion as a car with no lights peeled towards us. We both put on a mad dash towards the far kerb but it was too little too late, the car was too close. It hit Jason first slamming him into me. The car wasn’t going as fast as it could have been but the impact sent us flying through the air and landing heavily on the tarmac. My head hit the ground with a resounding smack and my last thought as the darkness closed in was; “Killed by a car, how ironic.”


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting the leader of The Menagerie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this is where I was a little liberal with things; Anita, much better actress than she admits to being in canon and while I have tried to be very very VERY creative with wording so no actual lies are told I may have missed something. Just enjoy it.   
> Also, when I wrote this I used different fonts for the telepathic contact. As there is a lot of that in the next few chapters I've tried to be very specific who is who but it might get a little confusing. Sorry!  
> Oh and Richard is a fucking boy scout!

I woke up on my feet. Hang on; who cares how I woke up, I woke up. Bully for me. My upper body hung forwards so my hair covered my face and I had a perfect view of my black boots with silver chains wrapped around my ankles. The knives were gone of course and the leather pants had large tears in them. I blinked a few times and continued to visually check myself over before my brain kicked in with its evil pain receptors. The top was also in shreds baring all of my midriff and most of my right breast, or at least it would have been if not for my bra. That thankfully remained intact. That was the visual part done, now to let my body feel the rest.  
I was tied to a tree, with chains also around my wrists, by the feel of it. I lifted my head and found besides a stiff neck I didn’t really hurt very much. Let’s hear it for vampire marks, huh? It was night still, or again, I had no idea how long I’d been out. I wished I could have seen my watch to get the date.  
I was more startled by my current location. I stood in the centre of a clearing and knew immediately I wasn’t tied to a tree but a stake. There were no trees in the centre of the Thronnos Rokke Lupanar. In front of me stood the rock throne the clan was named for. I glanced to my right and found nothing or no one of interest then to my left. Someone stood beside me in exactly the same predicament, tied to a post and still unconscious. I blinked a couple of times to make sure my brain wasn’t playing tricks on me. If I’d had my hands free I’d have rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Richard’s hair was covering his face too, the moonlight picking out the natural auburn highlights. His clothes were in tatters giving tantalising glimpses of tanned flesh.  
“Richard.” I hissed as much as whispered. “Richard!” He didn’t stir.  
I so wanted to kick him right now. Last thing I remembered I’d been with Jason, so where was he and why was Richard here?  
Finally I opened the marks between us, finding Richard’s shields down in his unconscious state. I pushed my way in with the marks until I heard Richard gasp.  
“Richard, snap out of it.” He turned his head slightly towards me. There was dried blood on his lip but the wound had since healed.   
“Anita? You’re alright?”  
“That’s a matter of opinion. What the hell’s going on?”  
“The Menagerie…”  
“I’d figured that much out.”  
He scowled at me. “They sent me a message. Jason was dumped on my doorstep beaten to within an inch of his life. He had an envelope pinned to his shirt. It had a lock of your hair in it and your cross. There was a note saying to come to the Lupanar and they’d let you go in exchange for me.”  
“And you believed them?”  
He shrugged which wasn’t easy when tied to a stake. He winced and I realised if he’d been here long that the silver chains would be burning his skin. One of the drawbacks to being a lycanthrope.  
“Please tell me you told someone where you were going?”  
He shook his head. “They said tell no one.”  
“Goddamit, Richard, you are such a fucking boy scout. They’re going to kill us both, you know that? If you’d come in here with back up you’d still have a chance of surviving.”  
“But you’d be dead just the same.”  
“One life for two Richard, it’s a fair exchange.”  
“Not if it’s yours.” We stared at each other for a moment and I realised then that in some part of me I’d always love Richard and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it but this incident, coupled with others, had proven we were just too different.  
“Human sacrifice is a noble thing, Richard, but not for just one life, no matter whose.”  
“I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one.” He smiled slightly. “How did you end up here?”  
“Jason and I got hit by a car.”  
“Hit by a car?”  
“Okay, not just hit by a car, but that’s the last thing I remember.” I told him the full story.  
“So if you’d let Damian take you instead of Ronnie you might not be in this mess?”  
“Don’t start playing the blame game, Richard. I still can’t believe you fell for the lock of hair trick again.”  
“I don’t think now is the time to be arguing about this. You can bitch at me later. Do you have any give in your chains?”  
I struggled a little, hoping for a little give. “No. Nothing. Can you change?”  
“I could. But I don’t quite know what the chains would do to my wrists. They might take off my hands.”  
“But they’d heal as soon as you changed form and changed back, right?”  
“Yes.” He sighed. “I’ve only seen you this eager to see me change once before.”  
I nodded. I remembered standing in his bedroom, half dressed promising we’d sleep together that night if he’d change for me.  
“Even if you change and get out for help, it’s better than us both waiting here to die.”  
“But your wait is almost over.”   
Richard and I looked towards the new voice. He was a tall man with red hair that was cut to about two inches so it covered his head in warm waves. He was built like Richard, muscled but not too much. He was also handsome, but his dark eyes had a cruel lilt to them.  
“Ciaran Chambers, I presume.” I snarled, rather than said.  
“I have that honour.” He said, bowing slightly.   
“You made a real mess of your wife. The cops know you did it.”  
“They’ll never find me, Ms Blake. Ciaran Chambers doesn’t really exist. He is a pseudonym of a pseudonym.” He walked closer. "Just one of many I use."  
“They don’t just look at names, they have your photo.”  
“But who do they have a photo of?” The skin on his face begun to slide, like a shapeshifter changing only without the fur. I’d only met one other were who could do that, and that was Raina. She’d said she liked to be able to change her appearance in case she wanted to do anything nefarious. I’d seen what she liked to do close up and nefarious didn’t even begin to cover it.  
He was slightly taller by the time he’d finished, his face longer, only his eyes and hair remained the same.  
“Raina could do that.” Richard said quietly. At the sound of the name the munin rose in me and I could feel myself wondering what Ciaran Chambers, or whoever the hell he was, tasted like. I closed my eyes and shook my head, hard.  
“Thanks, Richard.”  
“Raina?” Chambers asked.  
“I’m Raina.” I heard Raina’s voice slide out of my mouth like a purr. If I’d had my hands free I’d have clamped them over my mouth but I didn’t so I gritted my teeth instead. Chambers walked closer and examined me like he’d never seen me before. I knew my eyes were wide with the effort to stop Raina saying more and I could feel Richard’s startled gaze on me.  
“Is there someone else in there with you, Ms Blake?” I glanced at Richard and hoped my eyes told him not to say a word. Chambers gripped my face in his hands and I felt a shudder run through him as the munin touched him. “What’s this?” He smiled slightly. His fingers tightened around my jaw until my teeth unclenched.  
“It’s the munin.” Raina purred. “My munin.”  
“And you are?”  
“Raina Wallis.” I glanced at Richard and knew he could only see Raina in my eyes. I wanted him to know I was still in here but Raina laughed, I laughed, a head turning rich sound that I wasn’t used to, didn’t even think I was capable of. I reached out to Richard the only way I could, with the marks. I brushed against his shields and I saw his eyes widen as he realised I was trying to get his help. He lowered the shielding and I could smell the musty scent of autumn leaves and the brush of power that was simply Richard. Just the slightest touch and I pushed the munin back and away but I’d formulated a plan. I just hoped I was a better actress than I thought, that my scent didn't alter enough when I lied through my teeth as a few of my furry friends had noticed it didn't. They could tell, because they knew me so well, but anyone who didn't, lying still worked.   
“I used to be Lupa until little Miss Priss here killed me.” I said. And it was me who said it, Raina was gone for now, but Chambers didn’t know that. “And it wasn’t even a fair fight.” I sighed; making sure my breasts rose and fell obviously.  
“The human Lupa carries the munin of the previous Lupa? That I did not know. But then we thought that Ms Blake was a were of some kind herself.”  
“Perhaps you could help me get her out for good. I could take over, be your Lupa. You could change this body into whatever were you wanted.” I licked my lips and glanced at his mouth. Then for good measure I closed my eyes and shook my head. “No!” I screamed. “Get the fuck out of my head!” Chambers was close enough that he jumped back, surprised by my supposed 'possession'. I made my eyes wide and turned to Richard.  
“Help me, Richard.” I whispered, although I knew Chambers heard, that was the idea. I winked with the eye that was out of Chambers’ line of sight. “Don’t let her take me again.” I screamed a ragged cry and slumped against the chains half sobbing.  
“Has this happened before?” Chambers looked at Richard.  
“What? Oh yeah.” Richard said. "This isn't the first time she's taken over, she was sadistic, scary bitch alive, being dead didn't help that." It wasn't a lie; she had taken over, when I used the munin to heal, but as long as we didn't elaborate Chambers wouldn't realise we were exaggerating.  
I turned my half sobs into deep throaty laughs and stood up straight. I made a soft noise in my throat as though I was… happy and Chambers turned back to me.   
“She’s losing.” I said. “She can’t keep me out forever. And in this body I can control the Blooddrinkers Clan too. Think of the power base you’d gain.”  
Chambers seemed to consider this then nodded. “If you can get Blake out permanently there will be a place for you in The Menagerie. Is there anything I can do to help the process?”  
I shook my head. “She’s losing. I can feel her slipping away.” I turned to Richard and smiled nastily. “Say goodbye, Ulfric.”  
“Anita, fight it!” Richard really didn’t sound very convincing but I dropped my head and came up again with a lost expression on my face.  
“I can’t. I’m so sorry, Richard.” I swallowed hard, the closest I could get to making myself cry. “I..." I laughed, long and hard, effectively cutting myself off. I turned my attention back to Chambers. “What sort of were would you like me to be, Mr Chambers? Or may I call you Ciaran? Or something else?”  
“Are you really gone, Ms Blake?” He leant towards me, “Or is this some sort of ruse?”  
I laughed again. “Oh please, this little bitch couldn’t act her way into an amateur production. She was too interested in truth, and justice.” I spat the last.  
Chambers nodded, as though this were a regular occurrence for him and turned away thoughtfully. “I will choose a were for you to become, Ms Wallis…”  
“Raina, please, call me Raina.”  
“Raina then. I will have to keep you chained up until I'm sure you have been…infected.”  
“I hope you’ll find somewhere else to chain me than here. Your bed, perhaps?”  
He turned back to me with a small smile playing on his lips. “Of course we'll find somewhere more comfortable for you until the next full moon.”  
“Good. And of course, if you’d like to amuse yourself…” I shrugged. “It’s not really my body, so knock yourself out.”  
He stepped back towards me until only a breath separated us. “Would you like that, Raina?”  
“Mmm.” I licked at his lips. “You have no idea how boring this girl was in bed.”  
Chambers laughed then and kissed me, hard and heavy. I kissed him back but kept my mind elsewhere, lest the munin should come back for real. When he pulled away I held his bottom lip between my teeth for a moment then let it go. A lazy smile on my lips.  
“I think exorcising Ms Blake is going to be more fun than I’d realised.” He said quietly.  
“You have no idea.” I raised an eyebrow.  
He turned from me then and tilted his head slightly. “My people will be here in moments. They will enjoy the show of you becoming a were and the death of the Ulfric.”  
“As will I.” I said. He turned and smiled at me then walked back towards the trees.  
“God, that was disgusting.” I muttered once he was out of sight.  
“Was any of that really Raina?” Richard asked quietly.  
“Just a bit, at the beginning. Your marks helped me push her out. Now we’re alone, we can try using the marks to get Jean Claude.”  
“Do you know how?”  
“I have a vague idea as to how it works, but I’m never sure if it’ll work or not. Distance is sometimes an issue.”  
“Let’s try it.”  
I nodded and took in a deep breath and, letting out slowly, opened myself fully to the marks. I felt Richard immediately, his warm metaphysical presence beside me. Together we reached out, searching for the third of our triumvirate. At first I thought Jean Claude was distracted, busy doing other things, as though the marks were split, then I realised I was in contact with three other minds, not just Jean Claude and Richard.  
**“Whoever this is, we need help.”** I sent.  
**“Ma petite, where are you?”**  
**“Richard and I are at the Lupanar. Unless you want me as a were and Richard dead, I suggest you get the fuck over here and bring back up in a big way.”**  
**“Who else are you contacting, ma petite?”**  
**“I have no idea.”**  
**“Anita? are you okay?”**  
**“Who’s that?”**  
**“Rhys.”**  
**“Anita?”** a fourth voice entered the equation.  
**“And who’s that?!”**  
**“It’s Merry.”**  
**“Okay, I’m not even going to ask how, but just get us some help, okay?”**  
**“Sure.”**  
**“I will be there soon, ma petite.”**  
**“Hold on, Anita.”**  
I sighed and looked at Richard in disbelief. “Did you catch that?”  
“Yeah, Rhys I understand, but how the hell did you get Merry?”  
“I have no idea.” I shook my head. All we had to do now was wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will just add I had the idea Merry could be temporarily linked in 1. because she's powerful in her own right, 2. because of how she and Anita briefly linked earlier when Anita healed the damage Cel did, and 3. because I like to fuck with characters heads!


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Le Finale!
> 
> Here come the cavalry!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***WARNING! MORE SPIDER ACTION!***
> 
> This is it, the last four chapters already! I will post them all right now, which means tomorrow will see the start of Leopards and Spots! Part Four of the Crossover! Yay!

We didn’t have to wait long. Within twenty minutes I was pretending to be Raina again to about fifty lycanthropes. Guess Surfer-dude had lied in a big way.  
“Any idea what you want me to be yet, Ciaran honey?” I asked.  
“I’m thinking on it.” He said, taking a seat on the rock throne in front of us.  
“Well, what are you?”  
“I’m anything and everything you see before you.” He said spreading his hands expansively.  
“I’d heard you were special.” I raised an eyebrow. “How’d you do that?”  
“I can change into any were I’ve shared blood with.”  
“Impressive.”  
“You have no idea.”  
“What’s your favourite form?”  
He thought for a moment, “It really depends on what I’m doing.”   
“So what’s your favourite form for…personal pursuits?”  
“Tell me, Raina, have you ever had a bear?”  
“Wolf, leopard, swan…No I don’t think a bear has ever…” I licked my lips “…come up.”  
He smiled back at me, one of those slow, secret smiles a man gets when he’s flirting and knows he’s getting somewhere. “Perhaps a bear then.”  
His eyes flickered to one side then back to us. “Check the perimeter.” He said to the two men stood closest to him. They went to do as he asked.  
“Trouble, sweetie?” I asked. “This damn human body can’t hear shit.”  
“Nothing we can’t handle, I’m sure.”  
I felt Damian nearby moments before he landed behind us. There were shouts from all around and Edward’s voice from behind us said; “I’ll have you out of these locks in a sec.”  
I sighed with relief. “Thanks, Edward.” I watched as more weres came out of the trees then felt the Pack approaching.  
“Here comes the cavalry.” Richard said.  
“Let’s hope they’re not too late.” I said looking at the growing number of weres advancing on us.  
Within moments the padlock on my wrists was loose and before Edward started on my ankles he handed me another mini-Uzi, or maybe it was mine, I couldn’t tell.  
I sprayed the oncoming weres as a deterrent then held fire to concentrate my shots on anyone who got too close.  
“You’re free.” Edward said and I stepped out of the chains as he moved to Richard. I moved myself in front of Richard and glanced around. Jean Claude and Asher had arrived and were fighting hand to hand with several weres at once. They were making short work of them, tearing throats. Merry and the guards, including Rhys, were using blades and guns to take out any who approached, Jamil and Shang Da were making their way towards their Ulfric, fighting themselves a path. Several other wolves in half wolf form were fighting with various shifters, as were several in full wolf form. I glanced through the throng towards the throne and saw Chambers moving away towards the trees.  
“How’s those chains coming, Edward?” I asked, keeping Chambers in my sights.  
“Almost done…”   
“Great.” I ran off towards Chambers.  
“Anita, wait!” I heard Richard yell but I was lost in the crowd.  
Chambers was ahead of me; I could see him moving away. I fired towards him, hitting several other weres but none I recognised. It was funny how quickly a path emerged when you fired a mini-Uzi. He didn’t break pace or turn back, just kept moving.  
I forced my way past four shifters, two wolves, a cougar and a gorilla, I think, but was knocked to the ground. The place was thick with heaving bodies all fighting against each other. I picked up the Uzi again and started crawling towards where I’d last seen Chambers.  
A strong, clawed hand grabbed my left arm and yanked me off the ground, arm above my head. I brought the Uzi around in my right but another hand batted it away, making my arm go numb. I looked to see Chambers’ face snarling up at me, halfway through a change I couldn’t recognise. I kicked at him but at this angle had no momentum whatsoever, like an off-balance pendulum.  
“Goodbye, Lupa.” He growled in a voice more animal than human. He swung back his free hand and I realised he meant to gut me, no niceties, no yelling, ‘look at me killing your Lupa!’ nothing. I was a little disappointed, but maybe I’ve seen too many James Bond films. I did something very unBond-like then. I screamed. I screamed so hard and loud it made Chambers jump, but not for long. He laughed at me. He swung his arm back a second time and I stared him hard in the eye, determined not to look away.  
His arm exploded at the shoulder in a rain of blood and flesh, coating me in it. I looked across to see Edward, gun pointed at us from across the clearing. “Drop her, Chambers.” His voice was clear, as the gunshot had been moments before over the now quiet clearing. Chambers snarled at him and I felt muscle and bone in his hand starting to slide as he changed form. His severed limb begun to grow back but that was not the only one. His form seemed to fold in on itself, with extra limbs growing from his sides and I realised what he was changing into. I had no desire to be this close to a nine-foot werespider so I screamed again. The arm holding me lost its fingers and I dropped to the ground, my arm covered in the thick gloop that accompanied any shapeshift, and scurried backwards on all fours away from the thing. Chambers’ face folded inward and flattened out to reveal dozens of reflective eyes. He hissed and reared back, his abdomen spitting silk thread at me. I rolled to one side and the sticky grey film missed me by millimetres. I scrambled to my feet and ran, I was suddenly feeling a little worried, being surrounded by shapeshifters and unarmed.  
“Anita!” I turned to see Jamil beckoning to me and I headed towards him, not daring to glance back. “Richard told me to find you.”  
“You have, now what?” I glanced back and could see the large spider that was Chambers working its was towards us.  
“Now I get you out of here.” He took my arm.  
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head. “It’s me Chambers is after. I really don’t want to be running through the trees with him at my back. We have to kill him.”  
Jamil smiled slightly. “I knew you’d say that. What’s the plan?”  
“Keep him away from me until I can find some weapons.”  
“Your friend Edward has that covered. He has a holdall at the edge of the Lupanar with some goodies in for you.”  
My face broke into grin. I should have known Edward would have me covered. “Then get me there, Jamil.”  
“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled back.   
We weren’t far from the bag and I was glad, I could feel the skin on my back wanting to crawl away as Chambers got closer. At least I thought it was Chambers, I had a feeling somewhere out there was the original werespider he’d stolen blood from. The last thing we wanted was two of them but the thought wasn’t far from the front of my mind.  
Edward’s bag contained everything a girl could ever need going into a combat situation. I put one gun in the inner pants holster that had sat empty against my stomach and a spare clip in my pocket. I also took another two guns, one for each hand. They were a little larger than I’d have liked but they’d do. I wondered what kind of ammo Edward had packed then decided to try not to shoot any of my own people. I knew Edward’s preference and it would make a pretty mess of the weres and vamps alike.  
**“ma petite, where are you?”**  
**“I’m here, Jean Claude. We need to take out Spiderman.”**  
**“No arguments here, ma petite.”**  
I knew then Jean Claude would do his best to help destroy Chambers and would hopefully coordinate the rest of the vamps to do the same. I hoped none of them suffered from arachnophobia. Now would not be a good time to find out.  
“What now?” Jamil asked, throwing a werebadger back into the throng.  
“Get me to the throne.”  
He nodded once and we started to fight towards the rock throne the pack was named for. I’d lost count of how many weres I’d shot on the way to the throne, the numbers seemed to be dropping but they were still everywhere. I climbed onto the throne and looked around as Jamil stood sentry, fighting off anyone stupid enough to come near. I spotted Chambers, or the only nine-foot spider, moving through the crowd towards Richard, Jean Claude and Rhys, how the three of them had ended up working together I don’t know. I sighted down my arm and shot into the bulk of Chambers. He faltered slightly but continued. I fired twice more then the gun clicked empty and I dropped it, pulling the second from the holster. Finally Chambers turned his mirror-like eyes on me and changed direction.  
“Damian.” I whispered and opened my link to him. I fired a few more times at Chambers before Damian landed behind me on the throne.  
“What do you need, Anita?”  
“A blade, a silver blade. The bigger the better.” I felt him nod and then was gone again. “But not so big I can’t lift it!” I yelled into the air.  
Chambers was clearing his own path as he walked. No one seemed to want to get in his way. Can’t say I blamed them. I didn’t shoot anymore, he knew where I was now and I had a better chance of damaging him the closer he was. I saw Jean Claude say something to Rhys and Richard and they all looked at me as one. I shrugged slightly and gave them a half smile. Rhys shook his head, in disbelief I think. Richard looked from me to Chambers and back again, a look of horror on his face. Jean Claude merely smiled at me.  
**“Would you like any help, ma petite?”**  
**“What do you think?”**  
**“We will be with you in moments.”** And he severed our link.  
I looked back at Chambers who was making surprisingly slow progress considering how many legs he had. Damian reappeared beside me holding a blade in a sheath.  
“Is that mine?” I asked. He simply nodded. I pushed one of the guns into the holster and took the knife left-handed. Although I really didn’t want to be close enough to use it, the bullets had hardly fazed him. Now if only I knew where a spider kept its heart…  
**“Ma petite, get Damian to take you onto the spider, Rhys and I will meet you there.”**  
“Damian, can you get me on top of the spider?”  
He looked at me like I’d gone nuts. “If I have to.”  
“Then do it.” He stepped closer to me, wrapped his arms around my waist and we were airborne.  
I dropped to my knees as soon as our feet landed on Chambers and I drove the knife into him, as much for balance as anything else and ordered Damian to leave me. I could feel the coarse hairs on his body through my shredded pants and I suppressed a shudder. Rhys and Jean Claude were beside me before I had time to think on it again. Rhys drove his blade in beside mine and Jean Claude crouched between us, a hand on each of our shoulders as Chambers bucked against us, trying to throw us off. The squealing sound that came from him was as frightening as it was pitiful.   
“Can’t you just kill him, Rhys? You know do that ex-death god thing?”  
Rhys glanced at Jean Claude then back at me. “We agreed this should be your kill.”  
“What? Why?”  
“Ma petite…”  
“What? Because of the…because of the baby?” I whispered the last.  
Rhys nodded.  
“Just kill the bastard.”  
“Anita...”  
“Just do it!”  
Ciaran’s body started to shrink below us and the skin and hair fold in on itself. Jean Claude grabbed an arm of both Rhys and myself.  
“If you are going to do this, do it now, mon ami.”  
Rhys glanced at me and I nodded. I pulled out my knife and watched Rhys as he called his power and touched a hand to Chambers’ flesh. Chambers stopped moving so abruptly we stumbled forwards. Jean Claude stepped upwards then. Didn’t levitate, didn’t take off, just took a step upwards. The sensation was not unlike that I’d experienced in the nature reserve in Columbia when Jean Claude had taken me to the waiting ambulance. I closed my eyes as the ground came towards us but the touchdown was surprisingly soft. I opened my eyes again to see all the weres, both ours and theirs, staring at Chambers. He was human again, with two small puncture wounds on his back, but that wasn’t what had killed him. I looked around and found we outnumbered the remaining members of The Menagerie by almost three to one. Merry, Frost and Galen stood to one side in various stages of disarray. Merry’s hair was stuck to one side of her head where she’d come too close to changing shifter but other than dirty they looked okay. Richard stood with Jamil and Shang Da, all had claws instead of hands but other than that, and their eyes of course, they looked no different. Richard stepped to the throne and climbed onto it, Shang Da and Jamil standing protectively at his feet.  
“Your leader is fallen. Who here still dares challenge Thronnos Rokke and Blooddrinkers Clans?” His voice carried clearly over the now silent clearing. No one answered. A few of The Menagerie fell to their knees closely followed by more until only a few remained standing. Richard threw back his head and howled. It echoed through the clearing and was joined my others, some in half-human, some in wolf form, but the sound was haunting nonetheless.  
Merry came towards us with Frost and Galen not far behind. I was surprised when she threw her arms around me instead of Rhys but I wasn’t going to argue. I dropped my knife and hugged her back.  
“We thought you’d gone for good this time.” She said into my hair.  
“Not a hope. You’ve got a few years to put up with me yet.” She laughed then and so did I.  
“Lupa?” I heard Richard and, pulling away from Merry, looked over at him.  
“Ulfric.” I replied. He held a hand out to me and I went to him. I took his hand and he pulled me up onto the throne beside him. It was ridiculous for me to stay on the ground; we’d both have been straining over the height difference.  
“These people have wronged both us and your Blooddrinkers Clan.” The wolves started to round up the remainder of The Menagerie.  
“They have.” I said coldly. I glanced around and saw Edward hovering over Chambers’ body. I’d almost forgotten he had a hit out on him.  
“What should we do with them?” We were speaking loud enough for all to hear but it sounded like a more intimate conversation. I glanced towards my friends, and boyfriends, and knew what I wanted.  
“The one who can change form to become an owl? Unless he is already dead, I want him.” Several of The Menagerie glanced at one man. He’d remained in human form throughout.  
“And the rest?”  
“The pack can punish them anyway you see fit.”  
Richard bent over me and gave me the werewolf greeting, rubbing his nose along my cheek and nuzzling behind my ear.  
“What’s special about the owl?” He whispered.  
“It's personal.” I whispered back. He pulled away far enough to look at me. There must have been something in my eyes because he didn’t question it further.  
“Find the owl.” He said. Two of the half-wolves moved among The Menagerie and finally brought back the man others had glanced at.   
“I have to kill him, Richard. Tell me if you want me to do it elsewhere and I will.”  
He stared down at me. I knew my eyes had gone cold and emotionless. “Just a kill? No torture?” I nodded. He moved close to me again. “Some of the wolves will need to feed before they change back…”  
“Once he’s dead you can do what the hell you like with the body.”  
He nodded and leaned back again. “Here’s fine. You are my Lupa. You kill here if you wish.”  
I jumped down from the throne and walked towards the owl man. His face was an echo of what I’d seen merely nights ago, he was very birdlike, even in human form; his nose too long, mouth too small, eyes too close. He was taller than me, but then, who isn’t? He showed no fear as I stalked towards him.  
“My knives.” I said and Rhys handed me the large silver knife and a smaller one of Rhys’ own that he’d had made to match the ones I carried. His fingertips lingered on mine a few moments then he stepped back. “Hold him on his knees.” Sylvie, Richard’s second, who I hadn’t even realised was there, stepped forward as did a man I didn’t know, but with a pack of over eight hundred, it wasn’t surprising I didn’t know everyone. They pushed him down to his knees. At this height he still reached my collarbone.  
“Why me? There are others here who have killed, I’ve only injured.”  
“That’s where you’re wrong.” I said and drove the blade into his sternum and he gasped. I wrenched it upwards, carving myself a slit large enough to get my hands in and removed the knife, letting it fall to the ground beside me. I dropped to my knees before him and pushed both hands into the wound, including the smaller knife. I felt upwards until I found his heart. I held it in my left hand and cut it free with my right. The members of the pack in wolf form had gathered to my left, watching intently, sniffing the blood on the air. I pulled his heart free, my arms bloody up to the elbow and held it high enough for all to see, then threw it to the waiting wolves. I walked away, wiping my hands on the remains of my top as Sylvie and the man let the owl’s body fall to the ground.  
“We’ll leave you in peace now.” I said to Richard. He nodded once and I walked away. Many of the wolves in human form touched me as I passed, some even licking at the blood on my arms. It was still warm after all, no point in wasting it.  
Merry was looking a little pale, I wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen someone have their heart ripped from their still breathing body before but it wasn’t the first time I’d done it and it sure as hell wouldn’t be the last. Galen was helping Edward carry Chambers’ body towards the trees. I refused the arm that both Rhys and Jean Claude offered me; their clothes were relatively unscathed. I guessed they both had a natural talent for staying clean and looking spiffy.  
“How many’d you kill, Edward?” I asked as I led the way from the Lupanar.  
“I lost count after fifteen.” He shrugged. “You?”  
“Didn’t count at all.” He nodded. “How you doing, Merry?”  
“I can’t believe you just cut that guys heart out.” She was arm in arm with Frost.  
I shrugged.   
“It’s not even a fair swap for what he took.” Rhys said, putting an arm around my shoulders.  
“I understand the motivation but…” She shook her head. “You made it look so easy.”  
“Done it before. Too many times. If there’s the chance that whoever’s heart it is you’re trying to take is going to sit up and bite back, you learn to be quick at it.”  
“I think my aunt would be impressed.”  
“I think I’m done interacting with your aunt for a while, if it’s all the same to you.” She laughed, and then I laughed, then we all laughed. We didn’t know why, but it was better than crying, right?


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angsty and fluffy, Anita breaks down and gets unexpected comfort.

I lay in bed wishing for sleep. I was wearing an oversized penguin t-shirt Rhys had bought me that came almost to my knees. We’d come back to my place for a well-earned rest. Jean Claude was in the basement in the coffin he kept here, Merry was in the first guest room with Frost; Galen was alone in the third and smallest room. Rhys hadn’t come to bed yet, he’d lost the race for the bathrooms and ended up last. He always insisted on blow-drying his hair, a habit all the guards seemed to have, which took hours. But if your hair reaches past your waist you really don’t want to sleep on it wet, right?  
He came into the bedroom wearing just his skintight white briefs. He’d left his eyepatch off but I’d long gone past the point of caring about the empty socket staring at me. He slid into bed beside me and spooned himself against my back. I snuggled further against him and pulled his arm tight around my waist, lacing our fingers.  
“I thought you’d be asleep by now.” He murmured against my hair.  
“Nope.” I said sleepily. “The bed was too empty.”  
He kissed the side of my neck softly and I sighed. “You sure you’re okay?”  
“Just feeling pretty drained.” I said. “I didn’t realise quite how much this last couple of days has taken it out of me until I stepped back far enough to breathe.”  
“It’s sure been a crazy week.”   
“Understatement.”  
We laid in silence for a few moments and I felt a lump in my throat developing. Soon tears were flowing unbidden sideways across my face. I felt them trickle down towards the arm Rhys had under my neck and knew when he felt them. He propped himself up on one elbow and rolled me onto my back.  
“Hey, sweetheart, its okay.” He pulled me upright into a tight hug.  
“I’m okay.” I sniffled. “I’m just being silly.”  
“Anita, you’ve been through a lot the last few days, not just physically but mentally too. Its okay to cry, baby-doll, really.”  
“Call me baby-doll again and I won’t be the one crying.”  
He leant back far enough to wipe the tears from my face. “That’s my sweetie pie.”  
I pulled a face at him. “Cutsie poo? Honeybee? Princess?”  
“Now I know you’re joking.” I laughed slightly. “Stop trying to cheer me up. I want to be miserable, just this once.”  
“Okay. How about I stop trying to cheer you up and just settle for making you feel comfortable?”  
“I’d settle for that.” I nodded, resting my head on his chest.  
“Just stay there and I’ll be right back.” He got out of bed and left me sitting alone. I pulled my knees up to my chin and hugged them. Moments later he came back into the room. He crawled across the bed towards me and spoke as he came.  
“I know you miss the Pard and you get a lot of comfort from them. But they’re not here so I’ve got you the next best thing.”  
Merry came through the door first wearing a t-shirt as oversized as my own. Frost and Galen weren’t far behind, both just in their underwear. I felt my eyes widen.  
“Rhys…”  
“Its okay.” He rubbed my back as he spoke. “This is what you need.”  
He laid on his side pulling me down with him and turned me to face him so my cheek was against his shoulder, one hand against his chest, the other at his hip. Galen slid into the bed behind me and spooned himself against my back, his arm around my waist. Merry was next, cuddling against Rhys and lacing her fingers in mine against Rhys’ hip. Frost was last, laying his large arm across both Merry and Rhys to touch my shoulder.  
It was an Unseelie sandwich with a necromancer filling if ever I saw, erm, felt one but Rhys was right. It was the comfort I needed.  
“You don’t have to do this, guys.” I said softly. Rhys kissed my forehead, Galen kissed my shoulder, Merry squeezed my hand and shushed me as Frost rubbed the bare flesh of my arm. “But I appreciate it.”  
I fell asleep to the feel of Rhys’ heart against my hand and Galen’s against my back.


	39. Chapter 39

If anyone had asked me a few days ago how I’d feel waking up snuggled tight against Galen with Merry and Frost pressed against my back I’d have said surprised, embarrassed and shocked. But as it was happening right now I was just enjoying the comfort. I wasn’t sure where Rhys had gone but I could see from the edges of the curtain it was dark again outside.  
“You surprise me, ma petite.” I tilted my head to see Jean Claude standing in the doorway.  
“Don’t start, Jean Claude.” I carefully slid out of Galen and Merry's arms and crawled off the end of the bed, taking my Browning from the holster on the bed and tugging on a pair of jeans. “Have you seen Rhys?” I asked as I carefully shut the bedroom door on the three sleeping figures.  
“He was not here when I arose, no.” We went through to the kitchen where there was a fresh pot of coffee just draining through.  
“Did you…?” I looked at Jean Claude who nodded once. “Thanks.” I smiled at him.  
The others got up about half an hour later but Rhys still wasn’t back. We sat around my kitchen table drinking coffee discussing the last few days. Jean Claude made his excuses and left, needing to oversee a new manager at The Laughing Corpse.  
Finally Rhys returned with a large grin on his face. He wouldn’t tell us anything apart from to get ready to go out for dinner, and to dress up nice.  
We did. I was wearing, guess? All black. Black velvet dress, short of course, a matching bolero jacket, black stay ups and some rather nice lingerie I’d bought and not told Rhys about yet, two inch heels and a touch of make up. Merry was wearing a simple green shift dress and short sleeved see-through shirt, tied at the waist. The men all wore suits and even ties. We were dressed to kill. Well I was, with a knife on each wrist and my Firestar in my handbag. Each of the guards, including Rhys were carrying their swords, they were allowed, after all they were bodyguards. And I knew for a fact Rhys had a gun at the small of his back. He’d learned from me, get dressed and get armed, not necessarily in that order. We left the house and I drove under Rhys’ instruction.


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys is an incurable romantic.

Deirdorf and Hart’s is a steakhouse, and a very nice one at that. We were led to a window seat for five with the largest bouquet of gladiolus and chrysanthemums sitting on the table. Glads and chrysanths were the first flowers Rhys ever sent me.  
“What’s going on?” I turned to Rhys.  
He grinned at me. “A ridiculous romantic gesture to make you feel better.”  
“You never did anything like this for me, Rhys.” Merry said as we sat down, but she was smiling, seeing a side of Rhys she’d never seen before.  
“Yeah but I wasn’t desperately in love with you.” He said turning to face me. I felt a blush scalding my cheeks.  
We ordered drinks, wine for everyone else, coke for me. The waiter took the flowers from the table to give us some room, promising to keep them safe until we left. We ordered food, steaks of course, and chatted happily about anything and everything. The last few days didn’t come up again as though we were avoiding the subject all together. Finally we ordered dessert, or rather everyone else did, I ordered a coffee.  
Once dessert was done and more coffee had been served Rhys cleared his throat. He looked nervous suddenly. What next? I thought.  
“There’s one more surprise.” He said.  
“It’d better not be some lame singing waiters.” I said and everyone laughed.  
“No, less corny than that.” Rhys smiled. He took a small, black velvet ring box out of his pocket and put it on the table between us. I felt my eyes go wide. I hoped he wasn’t going to do what I thought he was going to do. Not in front of Merry at least.  
“Queen Andais made such a big deal about us being a mating pair and having to get married, it got me thinking.” He took a sip of his drink as though his mouth was suddenly dry. “I know our situation is special, because of Jean Claude and the bond you have to him and unless the law forced us, I don’t see you getting married by choice for fear of hurting either Jean Claude’s or my feelings.” I found myself nodding. “So I got you this.” He opened the box. Inside was a gold band indented with small diamonds. “Its an eternity ring.” He said taking it from the box. “Because its how long I’m willing to wait for you, and how long I hope we’ll be together.” He held it in front of me. “And I have no idea what finger you want to wear it on.” I laughed softly and offered him my left hand. It wasn’t an engagement ring after all so I could wear it where I wanted, and I wanted it there. He smiled back and slid the ring onto my finger. It was a perfect fit, almost, perhaps a little loose but not enough for it to fall off my finger. I glanced around the table, Merry had tears in her eyes, Frost was smiling, and Galen was grinning.  
“Guess this means we’re not-engaged then.” I said, my lips slowly sliding into a larger smile.  
“Nope. You just got eternitied to me.” Rhys said leaning in to kiss me softly. Eternitied to him. I liked the sound of that, even if it wasn’t accurate.


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brief prologue/summing up.

Merry stayed for two more days to make up for the two she’d originally come for. Which meant she was keeping an eye on me. We all hung out like normal friends did, went to the movies, went for walks in the woods around my house, stayed home and generally had fun. Even Jean Claude joined us a couple of evenings.   
Jean Claude was not surprised to see a ring on my finger but was surprised that it wasn’t for an engagement. Three days later he gave me a ring with sapphires in the same shade as his eyes for my other hand. I’m now eternitied to both of them. Jean Claude did comment it could be eternity for real, if I’d just take the fourth mark. I declined.  
When Merry went home the house was strangely empty. They didn’t sleep pard style with me again but there was the feeling that someone else was in the house besides Rhys and I. Nathaniel started staying over more often although generally he stayed in the guest room. Some nights though I just needed the extra comfort and Rhys was happy for Nathaniel to join us to sleep.  
Jason made a point of coming to see me at work to make sure I was okay. I asked him if it was at Jean Claude’s request but he said no, he was worried about his best friend. I’d smiled when he called me that. Its true, he really is a great friend.  
So my life is almost back to normal. Rhys bought me some more tropical fish, so many that we’re looking to buy a bigger aquarium. Jean Claude sent flowers more often and made sure the roses were accompanied by gypsophelia. Also known as babies’ breath. I told him it was either a joke in bad taste or a waste of money because I threw it straight out and kept just the roses. He told me that it wasn’t a joke and no money spent on me was wasted.  
I went back to work but made Bert drop me down to three raisings a night. I wanted to take it easy at first so I did. Dolph and Zebrowski both called separately to make sure I was okay, pretending to ask advice on preternatural matters. Zebrowski even invited Rhys and I to dinner at his and Katie’s house. We went and had a great time. Scary thing is Rhys and Zebrowski got on real well and are planning a boy’s night out. I’m starting to despair having introduced the two of them.  
But if the worse thing I had to deal with this month was Rhys and Zebrowski bonding, I was going to be one very lucky necromancer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, this is it, the end of A Were By Any Other Name!
> 
> Thank you to everyone for all the hits, comments, kudos and bookmarks, it makes such a difference to my day getting such positive feedback!
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed the ride! Watch out tomorrow for the start of Leopards and Spots, Part 4 (of 7 so far!) in the series!


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